- Positive data from cancer drug combination
- Huge unmet need to treat endometrial cancer
- Further data required
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) said positive results from a late-stage trial showed a combination of its cancer drugs Imfinzi and Lynparza when added to platinum-based chemotherapy led to a clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival in patients with endometrial cancer.
The news was well received by investors with the shares gaining 1% to £117.32, around 5% shy of all the time high reached in late April.
Endometrial cancer is a disease which originates in the tissue lining of the womb. It is the sixth most common cancer in women worldwide and the most common in women who have been through the menopause. The company said diagnoses are expected to increase 40% by 2040 and long-term outcomes remain poor.
Imfinzi is an antibody treatment which uses the body’s own defense mechanisms to fight cancer which blocks or attaches to foreign substances, while Lynparza is approved in the US for certain early-stage breast cancers.
WHAT DID THE COMPANY SAY?
Astra said, ‘the DUO-E Phase three trial is the first global trial testing the combination of immunotherapy plus PARP inhibition to demonstrate clinical benefit in this setting.’
Executive vice president of oncology at AstraZeneca, Susan Galbraith, commented: ‘These results underscore our ambition to redefine cancer care and we hope to bring this innovative Imfinzi and Lynparza combination to endometrial cancer patients as soon as possible.’
Shore Capital analyst Sean Conroy noted the DUO-E trial ‘adds to the growing body of clinical data that support the argument AstraZeneca has an industry leading oncology pipelines.’
‘Advancements have historically been slow in this patient population and a significant unmet need persists, hence this result should broadly be viewed as a breakthrough’ added Conroy.
However, Conroy highlighted that more advanced overall survival analysis will be needed before any firm conclusions can be made.
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