NICE backs Imfinzi for routine use within NHS for stage III NSCLC

Anglo-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) saw its shares rise 2.8% to 10,244 pence as markets were closing today, as it announced that the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended Imfinzi (durvalumab) for routine use within NHS England as monotherapy for the treatment of locally advanced stage III unresectable (unable to surgically remove) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in adults whose tumors express a protein called PD-L1 on at least 1% of tumor cells, and whose disease has not progressed following concurrent platinum-based chemoradiation therapy (cCRT).

In May 2019, durvalumab was made available as a treatment option for these patients via the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) – a scheme that provides patients with faster access to new cancer treatments. Today, after reviewing additional efficacy and safety data for durvalumab in these patients, the NICE has recommended routine access to this treatment.

Imfinzi, which is marketed globally for the treatment of a variety of lung cancer indications, is already a major product for AstraZeneca, pulling in 2021 revenues of $2.41 billion, up 18% year-on-year.