(Adds details on the trial, background on Imfinzi)
March 6 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca Plc said on Friday
its combination treatment for a form of bladder cancer failed to
meet the main goal of improving overall survival in patients
with an advanced form of the disease in a late-stage study.
The safety and tolerability profiles for Imfinzi and the
combination of the drug with tremelimumab were consistent with
previous trials, the British drugmaker said.
Imfinzi is approved for patients with locally advanced or
metastatic bladder cancer previously treated with
platinum-containing chemotherapy in 15 countries, including the
United States.
Imfinzi and tremelimumab belong to the immunotherapy class
of treatments, which strengthen the body's defenses to fight
cancer and tumors.
In 2018, about 550,000 people were diagnosed with bladder
cancer around the world and 200,000 died from the disease,
AstraZeneca said.
Imfinzi is also being tested as a monotherapy and in
combinations including with tremelimumab, as a treatment for
other forms of cancer, including head and neck, liver and
cervical.
(Reporting by Aakash Jagadeesh Babu in Bengaluru; editing by
Uttaresh.V, Bernard Orr)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
