Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) and AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) have reported promising interim results from a Phase 3 trial of their drug combination for treating extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer. The study found that Imdelltra, when used alongside AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi, reduced the risk of death by 58% as a first-line maintenance therapy.
The DeLLphi-305 study showed that the combination therapy extended median overall survival to 21.1 months, compared to 12.7 months with Imfinzi alone. Approximately 80% of patients receiving the combination therapy survived at the one-year mark, significantly higher than the 53% survival rate in the monotherapy group. The trial also demonstrated a 66% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death, with median progression-free survival reaching 7.4 months versus 1.9 months for the monotherapy group.
The combination therapy also generated an objective response rate of 26.4%, more than six times higher than the 4.1% recorded for the control group. These benefits were observed across various patient subgroups, including those with brain or liver metastases. The safety profile of the combination aligned with the known profiles of the individual drugs, with Grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events occurring in 20.9% of combination patients compared to 10.8% on monotherapy.
In premarket trading on Monday, AstraZeneca shares were up 0.10% at $171.67, while Amgen shares rose 0.79% to $442.72.