Amgen Combination Lung Cancer Trial Results
Clinical trial findings shared at the European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Madrid and featured in the New England Journal of Medicine—as covered by Reuters—show that pairing Amgen’s Imdelltra with AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi immunotherapy cut the mortality risk by 58% relative to Imfinzi monotherapy for individuals suffering from extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, according to clinical trial data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Madrid and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Reuters reported.
The Phase 3 study evaluated 563 patients with this aggressive form of the disease. For individuals on the combined regimen, the median survival duration reached 21.1 months, whereas those receiving Imfinzi alone recorded a median of 12.7 months. Data released at the ESMO meeting also showed patients on the combination therapy achieved a median survival of 21.7 months versus 12.1 months for the control group, while nearly 80% of Imdelltra-treated patients remained alive after one year compared to 53% on the single therapy.
Imdelltra and Imfinzi Target Cancer Cells Differently
Imdelltra belongs to a class of bispecific antibodies designed to pull immune system T cells into contact with cancer cells to destroy them. Imfinzi operates as an immunotherapy that blocks the mechanism tumors use to hide from immune-system assault. Standard care for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer typically involves initial chemotherapy followed by Imfinzi for patients whose disease does not worsen after initial chemotherapy.
Paul Burton, chief medical officer at Amgen, stated that giving Imdelltra earlier yields a larger clinical benefit, calling the results unprecedented in advancing treatment for the disease. Small cell lung cancer accounts for up to 15% of all lung cancer cases, representing approximately 250,000 new diagnoses worldwide each year according to the US National Institutes of Health. The overall five-year survival rate for the disease sits at approximately 9%, according to the American Cancer Society.
Combination Therapy Increases Serious Side Effect Rates
Serious side effects occurred in 20.9% of patients receiving the combination therapy, compared with 10.8% of patients treated with Imfinzi alone. Adverse events led to treatment discontinuation in 5.7% of patients on the dual therapy and 5.8% of patients on the single therapy.
Cytokine release syndrome—a potentially dangerous condition characterized by an aggressive inflammatory response—occurred in 49.6% of the individuals administered Imdelltra. Among those cases, only one was classified as serious, and no cytokine release syndrome-related deaths occurred during the trial.
Imdelltra Costs over 390,000 Dollars Annually
Imdelltra carries a US list price of approximately $30,000 per treatment cycle, translating to over $390,000 annually. Wall Street analysts project annual sales for the drug will exceed $2.5 billion by 2030, based on LSEG data. The drug currently holds US approval for adults with advanced small cell lung cancer that has worsened despite chemotherapy, an indication supported by earlier data showing Imdelltra reduced the risk of death by 40%.
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