Akeso Drug Extends Lung Cancer Survival by 4 Months in 500-Patient China Trial
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · May 31
Akeso Drug Extends Lung Cancer Survival by 4 Months in 500-Patient China Trial
7 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · May 31
More than 500 Chinese patients with advanced lung cancer lived about four months longer on Akeso’s ivonescimab than on a standard first-line therapy in a late-stage trial.
Both groups also received chemotherapy, isolating the added benefit of ivonescimab against a treatment commonly used in China.
The result builds on earlier data showing a 34% reduction in death risk and median survival of 27.9 months versus 23.7 months in squamous non-small-cell lung cancer.
Those findings are likely to lift expectations for ivonescimab and the broader PD-1/VEGF drug class, which is being watched as a potential challenger to Keytruda.
With its US partner near collapse, can a promising Chinese cancer drug overcome geopolitical hurdles to reach Western patients?
Why might a cancer drug that is highly effective in Chinese patients show weaker results in Western populations?
Ivonescimab Redefines Squamous NSCLC Care With 4-Month OS Benefit: Insights From the HARMONi-6 Trial
Overview
The HARMONi-6 trial marks a major advance in treating squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), showing that ivonescimab can control tumor progression and outperform pembrolizumab in patients with PD-L1 positive tumors. Unlike older VEGF drugs that struggled to improve overall survival, ivonescimab achieved high response and disease control rates, especially in patients with higher PD-L1 expression. These results suggest ivonescimab could redefine first-line treatment for NSCLC, meeting the FDA’s demand for therapies that extend patients’ lives and offering new hope for those with this challenging cancer.