PACIFIC trial for AZ’s Imfinzi very positive

AZ’s PD-L1 inhibitor Imfinzi (durvalumab) has now been approved in the US, Europe, Canada, Switzerland, India, Japan, and Brazil for mid-stage lung cancer patients whose diseases has not spread widely. In the PACIFIC trial, the drug reduced the risk of death by 32% versus placebo after standard chemotherapy, suggesting it could become the new standard of treatment for this patient group. Around 15% of these patients survive five years, and according to AZ Imfinzi is the first drug in more than 10 years to show a significant clinical benefit in the “curative-intent, stage III NSCLC setting”.
Chair of the Thoracic Oncology Department at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, and principal investigator in the PACIFIC trial, Scott Antonia, MD, Ph.D., said: “The five-year survival rate in this setting has historically been around 15% after concurrent chemoradiation therapy. The significant survival benefit observed using the PACIFIC regimen provides confidence and clear rationale for a new standard of care.”