Amgen drug combo cuts lung-cancer death risk 58% in major trial
Photo: Roy Castle Lung Cancer FoundationA combination of Amgen's Imdelltra and AstraZeneca's immunotherapy Imfinzi cut the risk of death by 58% in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, compared with Imfinzi alone, according to data presented Saturday at a major medical meeting.
Patients given both drugs lived a median of 21.1 months, versus 12.7 months for those treated only with Imfinzi, Reuters reported. The full results of the 563-patient Phase 3 trial were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Madrid and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Imfinzi is currently the standard of care after chemotherapy for this aggressive, hard-to-treat disease when the cancer has not worsened after initial chemotherapy. “If you give Imdelltra earlier and earlier, you get bigger clinical benefit,” said Paul Burton, Amgen's chief medical officer, who called the results “unprecedented” for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.
Imdelltra is already approved in the U.S. for adults whose advanced small cell lung cancer has worsened despite chemotherapy. It belongs to a class of bispecific antibodies designed to pull immune T cells into contact with cancer cells to destroy them. Its U.S. list price is about $30,000 per cycle, or more than $390,000 a year, Reuters said.
Sources: Reuters (Oct 24, 2026); Amgen / ESMO presentation (Oct 24, 2026).
Sponsored