The decisions by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
reflect an increased urgency by officials in the country to access
modern medicines, after many years of slow adoption.
AstraZeneca said on Monday that its Imfinzi immunotherapy drug had
been approved for use in lung cancer patients with inoperable
disease that had advanced locally but not spread widely around the
body.
Imfinzi was only given a U.S. green light for treating such stage
III lung cancer in February and it is still awaiting approval in the
European Union.
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Japan also approved Lynparza, which AstraZeneca markets with Merck &
Co, for breast cancer.
(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Keith Weir)
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