AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi approved by the FDA

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi, a small-cell lung cancer treatment, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in previously untreated patients.

The agency based its decision on the findings of the Caspian Phase 3 trial, which showed that paired with standard-of-care chemotherapy, the Imfinzi could minimise the risk of death in patients by twenty-seven per cent, relative to solo chemotherapy.

Given the results, AstraZeneca is competing closely with Roche’s Tecentriq, which is the first in its PD-1/PD-L1 class to get FDA clearance. Opinion experts, however, agree that Imfinzi may probably have a greater advantage over Tecentriq.