The Amgen logo is displayed outside Amgen’s headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California, on May 17, 2023.
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medicine from amgen Adding immunotherapy to patients with notoriously aggressive lung cancers can significantly extend life expectancy. AstraZenecaone study found.
Full results from a late-stage trial released Saturday showed that adding Amgen’s immunotherapy drug Imdeltora to AstraZeneca’s treatment Imfinzi reduced the risk of death by 58% in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. This cancer is a rapidly growing disease that spreads beyond the lung where it occurs.
The trial found that the drug combination extended median overall survival to 21.1 months, compared with 12.7 months with the AstraZeneca drug alone.
This means that half of the patients in the group that received the combination therapy survived for at least about 21 months. The trial tested the combination as maintenance therapy in patients whose cancer had not progressed after initial treatment with Imfinzi and chemotherapy.
“I think there’s going to be a moment in medicine where we’re going to see profound data that changes the standard of care for patients, and I honestly think we’re at that moment,” Dr. Paul Barton, Amgen’s chief medical officer, said in an interview.
He said the combination “has the potential to attack one of the most aggressive cancers we are currently working on and turn it into an almost chronic disease,” adding, “These data show that is possible.”
The results also suggest a bigger opportunity for Imdelltra, which posted revenue of $288 million in the second quarter, up 115% year over year. The drug has already recorded global sales of $627 million in 2025 and appears on the verge of becoming a blockbuster drug or reaching the $1 billion sales threshold.
Study principal investigator Dr. Jacob Sands, associate director of the Lowe Thoracic Oncology Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said small cell lung cancer remains difficult to treat.
He said that while immunotherapy has helped a small number of patients achieve disease control over many years, most patients do not experience similar lasting effects, highlighting the need for better treatments. It is estimated that approximately 31,000 new cases of small cell lung cancer occur in the United States each year, of which 60% to 70% are diagnosed with advanced-stage disease.
Sands said the trial’s benefits were seen across subgroups of patients, including those whose cancer had spread to the brain or liver. Metastasis of the disease to these organs reduces treatment results.
He added that with long-term patient follow-up data, the 21-month numbers “could evolve further and would be expected to improve significantly,” similar to what Amgen saw in its Phase 1 trial of its immunotherapy combination therapy. Early-stage trials in small numbers of patients showed that the effects persisted for years with long-term follow-up.
Previously used Imdelltra
Amgen said the study results also suggest that using Imdeltra early in a patient’s treatment can significantly change the trajectory of the disease. Imdeltora is currently approved for patients whose small cell lung cancer has progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.
The researchers specifically tested whether adding Imdeltora would make patients live longer than continuing Imfinzi alone, which is already approved as a first-line treatment for this type of lung cancer. Amgen said nearly 80% of patients who started taking both drugs were alive after one year, compared with 53% of patients who received Imfinzi alone.
Sands said Imdeltora’s “major impact” on disease control and ultimately people’s longevity highlights the importance of incorporating Imdeltora into first-line maintenance therapy. This refers to ongoing treatment that occurs after initial severe treatment, such as chemotherapy or surgery.
Burton added that Amgen’s drug is positioned as an “essential backbone therapy” for small cell lung cancer, regardless of other immunotherapies it can be used with.
Imdelltra binds to DLL3, a protein on cancer cells, and CD3, a protein on T cells, a type of immune cell that can kill cancer. By binding to both, Imdelltra brings T cells into close contact with tumor cells, helping the immune system destroy the cancer.
Imfinzi, made by AstraZeneca, is an immunotherapy that blocks a protein called PD-L1 that cancer cells use to evade the immune system. These drugs work in a complementary manner. Imfinzi helps release the brakes on the immune response, while Imdeltora brings T cells directly to cancer cells and helps activate them to attack tumors.
The study, presented at a major cancer conference called the European Society of Medical Oncology Congress, did not test whether the combination was better than other first-line treatment approaches.
Still, the study results suggest that Amgen’s drug could be another option offered to patients with small cell lung cancer in the early stages of treatment. Kate Brennan, 44, a mother of two from Denver, considers that a victory in itself.
She was diagnosed with advanced-stage small cell lung cancer in early January 2024. Brennan underwent six rounds of common combination chemotherapy, followed by chest radiotherapy and then whole-brain radiotherapy after the cancer had spread.
She started Imdeltra in September 2024 and has had no evidence of disease since.
“I think it’s amazing how quickly things are changing in the world of treatment options for small cancers,” Brennan told CNBC, adding that Imdeltra could be an early treatment option. “It can only be good for patients moving forward, and I’m really excited about that.”
