Benzinga | Jul 19, 2021 05:47AM EDT

China Approves AstraZeneca's Imfinzi For Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer

* National Medical Products Administration of China has approved AstraZeneca plc's (NASDAQ:AZN) Imfinzi (durvalumab) to treat an aggressive type of lung cancer in adults.

* The approval comes for the 1st-line treatment of adult patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer, combined with standard of care platinum chemotherapy (etoposide plus a choice of either carboplatin or cisplatin).

* China's approval came after positive results from a late-stage trial, which showed that the drug, when used with chemotherapy, reduced the risk of death by 27% versus chemotherapy alone.

* Median overall survival stood at 13.0 months versus 10.3 months for chemotherapy alone.

* Price Action: AZN shares are up 0.70% at $56.39 during the premarket session on the last check Monday.

* Related content: Benzinga's Full FDA Calendar.