China
approves Astra drug Imfinzi for aggressive form of lung cancer
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[July 19, 2021]
(Reuters) -China has approved AstraZeneca's
drug Imfinzi to treat an aggressive type of lung cancer in adults, the
company said on Monday, in a boost to its efforts to tackle the disease.
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China's National Medical Products Administration has okayed use of
the drug with chemotherapy in adults with extensive-stage small cell
lung cancer (SCLC), the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said.
The Chinese agency approved Imfinzi in 2019 to treat a certain type
of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
SCLC is an aggressive form of lung cancer that typically recurs and
advances despite a response to chemotherapy. Only about 3% of those
with extensive-stage disease live beyond five years after diagnosis.
China's approval came after positive results from a late-stage
trial, which showed that the drug, when used with chemotherapy,
helped improve patients' overall survival compared to chemotherapy
alone. Results from a local trial also aligned with global results,
AstraZeneca said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Jul/19/images/ads/current/charrons_bch041713.png)
The drugmaker is also seeking to catch up with Swiss rival Roche,
whose Tecentriq is approved in China and many other countries for
extensive-stage SCLC.
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Jul/19/images/ads/current/graue_22BOLT_062821.png) AstraZeneca's lung cancer
portfolio includes a range of medicines
including Imfinzi, which was approved in the
United States and the European Union last year
for extensive-stage SCLC.
Imfinzi, which enables the immune system to
detect and attack certain cancer cells, is
already approved in many countries as a
treatment for the more common NSCLC.
Lung cancer accounts for roughly a fifth of all
deaths from cancer and is the leading cause of
cancer deaths among both men and women.
(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru;
editing by Arun Koyyur and Jason Neely)
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