AstraZeneca receives a boost after two liver cancer treatments get the green light
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AstraZeneca gets a boost after two liver cancer treatments get green light
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA) green-lighted FTSE 100 drug company’s Imjudo and Imfinzi drugs
- They can be used together to treat unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer
- Liver cancer is the sixth most diagnosed cancer in the world, causing about 5,800 deaths in the UK each year, according to Cancer Research.
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AstraZeneca received a boost from its drug pipeline after US regulators approved two of its treatments for use in patients suffering from liver cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the green light to co-use the drugs Imjudo and Imfinzi from the pharmaceutical company FTSE 100 for the treatment of inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer.
Liver cancer is the sixth most diagnosed cancer in the world, causing about 5,800 deaths in the UK each year, according to Cancer Research.
AstraZeneca got a boost from its drug pipeline after US regulators approved two of its treatments for use in patients suffering from liver cancer
The FDA decision follows the results of a clinical trial that showed the drug combination caused a 22 percent decrease in the risk of death compared to sorafenib, a drug used to treat liver and thyroid cancers.
The study also found that 31 percent of patients treated with Imjudo and Imfinzi were still alive after three years, compared with 20 percent of those who received sorafenib.
Imjudo and Imfinzi contain two different types of antibodies that allow the body’s immune system to kill cancer cells more effectively.
Analysts at broker Shore Capital noted that the approval highlighted “expanding scope” for Imfinzi to be used to fight gastrointestinal cancers. Shares of AstraZeneca rose 0.6 percent, or 62p, to 9782p after the news.
It follows a string of regulatory successes for AstraZeneca, which has focused on its drug pipeline following a surge in sales of its Covid shot.
Its share price has risen nearly 10 percent in the past 12 months, making it the second most valuable company on the London Stock Exchange after oil giant Shell.