AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab) has been recommended for marketing authorisation in the European Union (EU) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The human monoclonal antibody has been approved as an additional dosing option, 1,500mg fixed dose every four weeks, in the approved indication of locally advanced, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in adults whose tumours express PD-L1 on at least 1% of tumour cells and whose disease has not progressed following platinum-based chemoradiation therapy (CRT).

This new dosing option is consistent with the approved Imfinzi dosing in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) and once approved, will be available to patients with locally advanced, unresectable NSCLC weighing more than 30kg.

Imfinzi was recently approved in the US for this dosing regimen. Imfinziis approved in the curative-intent setting of unresectable, Stage III (locally advanced) NSCLC after CRT in the EU, US, Japan, China and many other countries, based on the PACIFIC Phase III trial. Additionally, it is approved in the EU, US, Japan and many other countries around the world for the treatment of ES-SCLC based on the CASPIAN Phase III trial.

Following review of the application under its accelerated assessment procedure, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency based its positive opinion on data from several Imfinzi clinical trials, including the PACIFIC Phase III trial which supported the two-week, weight-based dosing of 10mg/kg every two weeks already approved in locally advanced, unresectable NSCLC, and the CASPIAN Phase III trial which used fixed dosing every four weeks during maintenance treatment in ES-SCLC.

José Baselga, Executive Vice President, Oncology R&D, said: “The four-week dosing regimen will decrease the risk of exposure to infection in the healthcare setting, furthering our efforts to ensure continuity of care for cancer patients at high risk of complications during the pandemic. We look forward to offering non-small cell lung cancer patients in Europe an option that would reduce medical visits by extending dosing from two to four weeks.”