(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC on Friday said results from Himalaya Phase 3 showed Imfinzi monotherapy improved overall survival in first-line unresectable liver cancer.
Imfinzi monotherapy is the combination use of Imfinzi, an immunotherapy drug developed by Cambridge-based AstraZeneca, and tremelimumab, an immune checkpoint blocker developed by Pfizer Inc but now wholly-owned by AstraZeneca.
Phase 3 showed a single, high priming dose of tremelimumab added to Imfinzi demonstrated a "statistically significant" overall survival benefit as a first-line treatment for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer, who had not received prior systemic therapy.
The coronavirus jab maker conducted Himalaya in 190 centres across 16 countries. The trial compared Imfinzi monotherapy to sorafenib, a cancer growth blocker.
"This is the first time a dual immunotherapy regimen has improved overall survival as a 1st-line treatment for patients with unresectable liver cancer for whom treatment options are limited and long-term outcomes are poor," said Susan Galbraith, vice president of AstraZeneca's Oncology R&D division.
Unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer.
Ghassan Abou-Alfa, a principal investigator in Himalaya Phase 3, said the combination of Imfinzi and tremelimumab works to boost the patient's own immune system against their liver cancer.
Both drugs were granted orphan drug designations in the US for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in 2020, with tremelimumab later in the year receiving orphan designation in the EU.
AstraZeneca shares were down 0.3% at 8,788.00 pence in London on Friday morning.
By Josie O'Brien; josieobrien@alliancenews.com
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