Bavarian Nordic (BAVA) Names Sanofi And AstraZeneca Veteran Tarja Stenvall As New CEO

Amgen's Imdeltra combined with AstraZeneca's Imfinzi reduced death risk by 58% in late-stage small-cell lung cancer trials. Median survival increased from 12.7 to 21.1 months. Amgen and AstraZeneca are involved in the study, which may change treatment standards.

A Phase 3 trial found that a combination of tarlatamab (Amgen) and durvalumab (AstraZeneca) reduced death risk by 58% and extended median survival to 21.1 months in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer patients. The study involved 563 patients across 29 countries. Amgen plans regulatory submissions.

AstraZeneca's Imfinzi and Amgen's Imdelltra combination therapy extended survival by eight months in advanced lung cancer patients, reducing death risk by 58% according to a trial. Side effects were manageable, with 1% experiencing neurological issues. AstraZeneca also reported positive bladder cancer data for Imfinzi plus Pfizer's Padcev. Both studies were presented at an oncology meeting in Madrid.

Durvalumab (Imfinzi) plus BCG improved disease-free survival (DFS) in BCG-naive, high-risk, papillary-only non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients, according to a subgroup analysis of the phase 3 POTOMAC trial. At 60.7 months, DFS events were 17% in the durvalumab arm vs 30% in the BCG-alone arm (HR, 0.56). The 48-month DFS rates were 84% vs 74%. AstraZeneca, the maker of durvalumab, is likely to benefit from these findings.

A phase 3 trial found that durvalumab (AstraZeneca) plus olaparib (AstraZeneca and Merck) improved median overall survival to 51.1 months vs 39.6 months with chemotherapy alone in advanced endometrial cancer, though the difference was not statistically significant. The study, presented at ESMO 2026, showed a hazard ratio of 0.77 but did not meet the prespecified significance threshold. The combination also showed favorable results in subpopulations and post-progression endpoints.

AstraZeneca's VOLGA Phase III trial showed that perioperative IMFINZI (durvalumab) plus neoadjuvant enfortumab vedotin reduced the risk of recurrence by 49% and risk of death by 42% in muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients. The combination therapy demonstrated statistically significant improvements in event-free survival and overall survival compared to the standard of care. According to AstraZeneca, more than three quarters of patients were still alive two years after treatment.