Imfinzi, a new AstraZeneca immune drug, has been recognized as a breakthrough therapy for lung cancer

Source: AstraZeneca announced today that the FDA of the United States has granted the PD-L1 inhibitor imfinzi (duravulumab) breakthrough therapy to treat patients with locally advanced and non resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), who have not progressed after platinum radiotherapy and chemotherapy Locally advanced (stage III) NSCLC accounts for about one third of all NSCLC cases, affecting about 100000 people in developed countries About half of these tumors cannot be removed, and the current standard treatment is radiotherapy and chemotherapy plus active monitoring But the prognosis of this disease is not ideal, and the long-term survival rate is very low As a human monoclonal antibody targeting PD-L1 directly, imfinzi can block the interaction between PD-L1 and PD-1 and CD80 on T cells, resist the immune escape means of tumor and induce immune response Sean bohen, chief medical officer of AstraZeneca, said that if imfinzi was approved for locally advanced, non resectable NSCLC treatment, it would provide a new treatment option The FDA's decision comes after AstraZeneca released the interim results of Pacific, a phase 3 clinical trial The mid-term results of this trial showed that imfinzi was statistically and clinically significant in improving progression free survival (PFS), reaching the primary end point of the study At present, AstraZeneca is still waiting for the result of total survival time (OS) "For patients who have not progressed after radiotherapy or chemotherapy, the only option is active monitoring Unfortunately, most patients usually develop cancer into metastatic disease within 12 months Imfinzi is the first immunooncology drug to show significant clinical benefits in the early, non metastatic condition So, after the breakthrough treatment is identified, we hope to bring it to patients as soon as possible, "Dr bohen said Imfinzi was approved in May this year for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma We look forward to imfinzi's approval of this new indication and providing a new treatment option for these patients.