Imjudo in combination with Imfinzi has been approved in the US for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer.

The novel dose and schedule of the combination, which includes a single dose of the anti-CTLA-4 antibody Imjudo 300mg added to the anti-PD-L1 antibody Imfinzi 1500mg followed by Imfinzi every four weeks, is called the STRIDE regimen (Single Tremelimumab Regular Interval Durvalumab), describes the company in a press release.

“With this first regulatory approval for Imjudo, patients with unresectable liver cancer in the US now have an approved dual immunotherapy treatment regimen that harnesses the potential of CTLA-4 inhibition in a unique combination with a PD-L1 inhibitor to enhance the immune response against their cancer,” says Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca.

The HIMALAYA Phase III trial

The approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was based on positive results from the HIMALAYA Phase III trial. In this trial, patients treated with the combination of Imjudo and Imfinzi experienced a 22% reduction in the risk of death versus sorafenib. Results were also published in the New England Journal of Medicine Evidence showing that an estimated 31% of patients treated with the combination were still alive after three years, with 20% of patients treated with sorafenib still alive at the same duration of follow-up.

The safety profiles of the combination of Imjudo added to Imfinzi and for Imfinzi alone were consistent with the known profiles of each medicine, and no new safety signals were identified.

Regulatory applications for Imjudo in combination with Imfinzi are currently under review in Europe, Japan and several other countries for the treatment of patients with advanced liver cancer based on the HIMALAYA results.

Photo of Dave Fredrickson: AstraZeneca