AstraZeneca announces good results from endometrial cancer trial
AstraZeneca boasts positive drug trial results in patients with late-stage endometrial cancer
- AstraZeneca earned more than $4 billion in revenue from Imfinzi and Lynparza last year
- Endometrial cancer is one of the world’s most common cancers in women
A late-stage drug trial involving patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer has produced positive results, AstraZeneca said.
The pharmaceutical giant said people treated with the drugs Imfinzi and Lynparza, in combination with chemotherapy, had seen a “statistically significant and clinically meaningful” gain in progression-free survival.
A “greater clinical benefit” was noted when Imfinzi and Lynparza were part of a combined treatment rather than when the drugs were used separately, it added.
AstraZeneca has revealed positive results from a phase three
Imfinzi – also known as Durvalumab – is typically used to treat certain cancers of the lung, bile duct, and gallbladder, while Lynparza, whose generic name is Olparib, is used for certain cancers of the ovary, prostate, breast, and pancreas.
AstraZeneca earned more than $4 billion in revenue from the two drugs last year, representing more than half of all sales in the oncology division.
Susan Galbraith, executive vice president of oncology research and development at AstraZeneca, said: ‘These results underline our ambition to redefine cancer care, and we hope to make this innovative combination of Imfinzi and Lynparza available to patients with endometrial cancer as soon as possible. ‘
Endometrial cancer is one of the world’s most common cancers in women, with more than 417,000 patients diagnosed and 97,000 deaths from the condition in 2020.
It is the most common form of uterine cancer and primarily affects postmenopausal women and those over the age of 60.
According to the World Health Organization, the number of diagnoses of the condition will increase by almost 40 percent by the end of the next decade.
AstraZeneca Shares were up 0.33 per cent at £116.80 just after midday on Friday and remained just above their year-to-date value.
In its first-quarter results published last month, the FTSE 100 firm revealed that cancer drug sales rose 19 percent, with Imfinzi revenues reaching $900 million, far exceeding estimates of about $735. million.
However, total sales fell 4 percent to $10.9 billion due to a sharp drop in orders for Covid-19 vaccines as governments eased travel restrictions.
Following the performance, AstraZeneca maintained its outlook for low-to-mid-single-digit sales growth, but low double-digits when excluding coronavirus-related sales.