AstraZeneca Declines as Imfinzi Underperforms in Cancer Trial

By Geoffrey Smith

AstraZeneca’s stock experienced a slight decline during morning trading in London on Monday, following the pharmaceutical company’s announcement that its Imfinzi drug did not achieve its primary endpoints in the latest trial assessing its effectiveness.

As of 05:55 ET (10:55 GMT), AstraZeneca shares were down 0.2%, lagging behind the broader market which saw a 0.6% increase.

The PEARL Phase III trial aimed to determine if Imfinzi could enhance overall survival rates for patients with stage IV (metastatic) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) exhibiting high levels (25% or more) of PD-L1, a protein that allows cancer cells to evade the immune response. Notably, the drug showed a significant improvement in a specific group of patients with PD-L1 expression levels exceeding 50%, marking a positive outcome for a secondary endpoint.

The trial was predominantly conducted in Asia.

Imfinzi has been one of AstraZeneca’s more successful recent therapies, receiving approval for treating multiple types of cancer. Thus, the setback from the PEARL III trial is considered a relatively minor hurdle for its ongoing commercialization.

AstraZeneca mentioned that the safety and tolerability profile for Imfinzi remained consistent with previously established data, with no new safety concerns identified.

Susan Galbraith, the oncology executive vice-president, expressed optimism about the results: "We are encouraged to see patients in the metastatic setting at a higher level of PD-L1 tumour expression demonstrate the most benefit with Imfinzi monotherapy treatment, as is commonly seen in this class. We remain steadfast in our dedication to developing new and improved medicines and regimens for patients with lung cancer across our diverse portfolio."