Parvoviridae Infections

The trial showing changes in mRNA gene expression in biopsies of the ileum, part of the small intestine that can be constricted as a part of fibrostenosing Crohn\'s disease.\n Agomab’s ALK5 inhibitor has proven its ability to target the correct part of the intestine in a phase 2 trial of fibrostenosing Crohn’s disease.The STENOVA study saw 90 patients with the condition receive one of two doses of the therapy, dubbed AGMB-129, or placebo for 12 weeks on top of standard of care. An interim readout has shown the study hit its primary endpoints of showing that AGMB-129 was safe and well tolerated, Agomab said in a March. 10 release.The trial also hit its secondary endpoints, which included showing changes in mRNA gene expression in biopsies of the ileum, part of the small intestine that can be constricted as a part of fibrostenosing Crohn\'s disease. In addition, the study hit its pharmacokinetics endpoints as measured in the amount of metabolites in plasma. Agomab is holding onto the interim data until a future conference, the Belgian biotech said, with full results from the study then expected in the fourth quarter.“The positive interim data for the STENOVA phase 2a clinical trial represent a significant milestone for this program, and we look forward to presenting the detailed results at a scientific conference in the near-term,” Agomab’s Chief Medical Officer Philippe West said.The study was financed by a $100 million series C that the Antwerp, Belgium-based biotech hauled in back in October 2023.Agomab launched in 2019 to take forward the work of Paolo Michieli, Ph.D., who has researched hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) at the University of Torino for more than two decades. HGF plays a role in cell functions such as proliferation, survival and differentiation and can promote wound healing and tissue regeneration.In 2021, Agomab bought Origo Biopharma, adding small-molecule drug candidates that target the transforming growth factor beta, including AGMB-129. The company’s hopes are that AGMB-129 can be used in combination with other Crohn’s drugs to help tamp down the disease and stop the scarring in those with fibrostenotic disease.This could be a sizable market—around 800,000 people are estimated to have Crohn’s in the U.S., around half of whom will be impacted by the fibrostenotic form. 

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab) in combination with chemotherapy has been recommended for approval in the European Union (EU) for the treatment of adults with resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at high risk of recurrence and no epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements. In this regimen, patients are treated with Imfinzi in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery and as adjuvant monotherapy after surgery. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) based its positive opinion on results from the pivotal AEGEAN trial, which were published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Results from a planned interim analysis of event-free survival (EFS) showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful 32% reduction in the risk of recurrence, progression events or death versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone in patients treated with the Imfinzi-based perioperative regimen (32% data maturity; EFS hazard ratio [HR] 0.68; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53-0.88; p=0.003902). In a final analysis of pathologic complete response (pCR), treatment with Imfinzi plus neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery resulted in a pCR rate of 17.2% versus 4.3% for patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone (difference in pCR 13.0%; 95% CI 8.7-17.6). Additionally, interim overall survival (OS) results presented at the 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer showed a favourable trend with the Imfinzi-basedperioperative regimen (35% data maturity; median OS: not reached [NR] versus 53.2 months; HR=0.89; 95% CI 0.70-1.14). The OS data were not tested for statistical significance at this interim analysis and will continue to be assessed as a key secondary endpoint at final analysis. Professor Martin Reck, Head of the Department of Thoracic Oncology at the Lung Clinic Grosshansdorf, Germany, member of the AEGEAN Steering Committee and investigator in the trial, said: “Adding perioperative durvalumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy significantly improved outcomes for patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer, who experience high rates of recurrence and poor outcomes. Today’s recommendation marks an important step towards patients and their clinicians in Europe gaining access to an innovative treatment that should become a backbone combination approach in this curative-intent setting.” Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President, Oncology Haematology R&D, AstraZeneca, said: “This recommendation highlights the potential of Imfinzi to address an unmet need for patients with resectable lung cancer who need new treatment options that increase the time they live without recurrence or progression. AEGEAN underscores our commitment to transforming care in the early stages of lung cancer where there is the greatest potential for cure.” Each year in Europe, there are more than 450,000 people diagnosed with lung cancer.1 Around 25-30% of all patients with NSCLC, the most common form of lung cancer, are diagnosed early enough to have surgery with curative intent.2-3 However, the majority of patients with resectable disease will develop recurrence and only 36-46% of patients with Stage II disease will survive for five years.4-5 This decreases to 24% for patients with Stage IIIA disease and 9% for patients with Stage IIIB disease, reflecting a high unmet medical need.4 Imfinzi was generally well tolerated, and no new safety signals were observed in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings. Further, adding Imfinzi to neoadjuvant chemotherapy was consistent with the known profile for this combination and did not compromise patients' ability to complete surgery versus chemotherapy alone. Imfinzi is approved in the US and several other countries in this setting based on the AEGEAN results. Regulatory applications are also currently under review in China, Japan and additional countries. Imfinzi is the global standard of care based on OS in the curative-intent setting of unresectable, Stage III NSCLC in patients whose disease has not progressed after chemoradiotherapy (CRT) based on the PACIFIC Phase III trial. Notes Lung cancer Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women, accounting for about one-fifth of all cancer deaths.6-7 Lung cancer is broadly split into NSCLC and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), with 80-85% of patients diagnosed with NSCLC.8-9 An estimated 28,000 people are treated for resectable NSCLC across the five major European countries each year.10 Early-stage lung cancer diagnoses are often only made when the cancer is found on imaging for an unrelated condition.11-12 The majority of patients with resectable disease eventually develop recurrence despite complete tumour resection and adjuvant chemotherapy.5 AEGEAN AEGEAN is a randomised, double-blind, multi-centre, placebo-controlled global Phase III trial evaluating Imfinzi as perioperative treatment for patients with resectable Stage IIA-IIIB (Eighth Edition AJCC Cancer Staging Manual) NSCLC, irrespective of PD-L1 expression. Perioperative therapy includes treatment before and after surgery, also known as neoadjuvant/adjuvant therapy. In the trial, 802 patients were randomised to receive a 1500mg fixed dose of Imfinzi plus chemotherapy or placebo plus chemotherapy every three weeks for four cycles prior to surgery, followed by Imfinzi or placebo every four weeks (for up to 12 cycles) after surgery. Patients with known EGFR or ALK genomic tumour aberrations were excluded from the primary efficacy analyses. In the AEGEAN trial, the primary endpoints were pCR, defined as no viable tumour in the resection specimen (including lymph nodes) following neoadjuvant therapy, and EFS, defined as the time from randomisation to an event like tumour recurrence, progression precluding definitive surgery, or death. Key secondary endpoints were major pathologic response, defined as residual viable tumour of less than or equal to 10% in the resected primary tumour following neoadjuvant therapy, disease-free survival, OS, safety and quality of life. The final pathologic response analyses were performed after all patients had the opportunity for surgery and pathology assessment per the trial protocol. The trial enrolled participants from 264 centres in more than 25 countries including in the US, Canada, Europe, South America and Asia. Imfinzi Imfinzi (durvalumab) is a human monoclonal antibody that binds to the PD-L1 protein and blocks the interaction of PD-L1 with the PD-1 and CD80 proteins, countering the tumour's immune-evading tactics and releasing the inhibition of immune responses. In addition to its indications in resectable, early-stage (IIa-IIIB) NSCLC and unresectable, Stage III NSCLC, Imfinzi is also approved for use in combination with a short course of Imjudo (tremelimumab) and chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic NSCLC. Imfinzi is also approved for limited-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in patients whose disease has not progressed following concurrent platinum-based CRT; and in combination with chemotherapy (etoposide and either carboplatin or cisplatin) for the treatment of extensive-stage SCLC. Imfinzi is also approved in combination with chemotherapy (gemcitabine plus cisplatin) in locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer and in combination with Imjudo in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Imfinzi is also approved as a monotherapy in unresectable HCC in Japan and the EU. Imfinzi is also approved in combination with chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel) followed by Imfinzi monotherapy in primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer that is mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) in the US. In the EU, Imfinzi plus chemotherapy followed by Lynparza (olaparib) and Imfinzi is approved for patients with mismatch repair proficient (pMMR) advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, and Imfinzi plus chemotherapy followed by Imfinzi alone is approved for patients with dMMR disease. In Japan, Imfinzi plus chemotherapy followed by Imfinzi monotherapy has also been approved as 1st-line treatment in primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, and Imfinzi plus chemotherapy followed by Imfinzi and Lynparza has been approved for patients with pMMR disease. Since the first approval in May 2017, more than 374,000 patients have been treated with Imfinzi. As part of a broad development programme, Imfinzi is being tested as a single treatment and in combinations with other anti-cancer treatments for patients with SCLC, NSCLC, bladder cancer, breast cancer, several gastrointestinal and gynaecologic cancers, and other solid tumours. AstraZeneca in lung cancer AstraZeneca is working to bring patients with lung cancer closer to cure through the detection and treatment of early-stage disease, while also pushing the boundaries of science to improve outcomes in the resistant and advanced settings. By defining new therapeutic targets and investigating innovative approaches, the Company aims to match medicines to the patients who can benefit most. The Company’s comprehensive portfolio includes leading lung cancer medicines and the next wave of innovations, including Tagrisso (osimertinib) and Iressa (gefitinib); Imfinzi and Imjudo; Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) and Datroway (datopotamab deruxtecan) in collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo; Orpathys (savolitinib) in collaboration with HUTCHMED; as well as a pipeline of potential new medicines and combinations across diverse mechanisms of action. AstraZeneca is a founding member of the Lung Ambition Alliance, a global coalition working to accelerate innovation and deliver meaningful improvements for people with lung cancer, including and beyond treatment. AstraZeneca in immuno-oncology (IO) AstraZeneca is a pioneer in introducing the concept of immunotherapy into dedicated clinical areas of high unmet medical need. The Company has a comprehensive and diverse IO portfolio and pipeline anchored in immunotherapies designed to overcome evasion of the anti-tumour immune response and stimulate the body’s immune system to attack tumours. AstraZeneca strives to redefine cancer care and help transform outcomes for patients with Imfinzi as a monotherapy and in combination with Imjudo as well as other novel immunotherapies and modalities. The Company is also investigating next-generation immunotherapies like bispecific antibodies and therapeutics that harness different aspects of immunity to target cancer, including cell therapy and T-cell engagers. AstraZeneca is pursuing an innovative clinical strategy to bring IO-based therapies that deliver long-term survival to new settings across a wide range of cancer types. The Company is focused on exploring novel combination approaches to help prevent treatment resistance and drive longer immune responses. With an extensive clinical programme, the Company also champions the use of IO treatment in earlier disease stages, where there is the greatest potential for cure. AstraZeneca in oncology AstraZeneca is leading a revolution in oncology with the ambition to provide cures for cancer in every form, following the science to understand cancer and all its complexities to discover, develop and deliver life-changing medicines to patients. The Company's focus is on some of the most challenging cancers. It is through persistent innovation that AstraZeneca has built one of the most diverse portfolios and pipelines in the industry, with the potential to catalyse changes in the practice of medicine and transform the patient experience. ​AstraZeneca has the vision to redefine cancer care and, one day, eliminate cancer as a cause of death. AstraZeneca  AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases, and BioPharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca’s innovative medicines are sold in more than 125 countries and used by millions of patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com and follow the Company on social media @AstraZeneca. Contacts For details on how to contact the Investor Relations Team, please click here. For Media contacts, click here. References Adrian Kemp Company Secretary AstraZeneca PLC Oncology Corporate and financial

IMFINZI reduced the risk of distant metastases and death from bladder cancer vs. neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone WILMINGTON, DE, USA I February 14, 2025 I Results from a post-hoc exploratory subgroup analysis from the NIAGARA Phase III trial showed AstraZeneca’s IMFINZI ® (durvalumab), administered perioperatively in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, demonstrated improvements in event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy with radical cystectomy alone in patients with or without a pathologic complete response (pCR) in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Patients were treated with four cycles of IMFINZI in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy before radical cystectomy (surgery to remove the bladder) followed by eight cycles of IMFINZI monotherapy. These new data were presented today at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU) in San Francisco, California (abstract #659). In NIAGARA, treatment with the IMFINZI perioperative regimen improved EFS and OS versus the comparator arm both in patients who achieved pCR and those who did not. This regimen reduced the risk of disease progression, recurrence, not undergoing surgery, or death by 42% in patients who achieved pCR and by 23% in those who did not; and reduced the risk of death by 28% in patients who achieved pCR and by 16% in those who did not (see data table below for details). The IMFINZIperioperative regimen also improved metastasis-free survival (MFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS), two secondary endpoints, versus the comparator arm in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population. This regimen reduced the risk of developing distant metastases or death by 33% and the risk of death specifically due to bladder cancer by 31% versus the comparator arm (see data table below for details). Matthew ND. Galsky, Lillian and Howard Stratton Professor of Medicine, Director of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and NIAGARA Investigator and Steering Committee member, said: “These NIAGARA data confirm the compelling efficacy of the durvalumab perioperative regimen in muscle-invasive bladder cancer, and importantly, show this regimen improved outcomes regardless of whether patients achieved a pathologic complete response. This insight, together with the data showing the durvalumab perioperative regimen extended the time patients live before distant metastases develop, is favorable news for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who are in need of better treatment options.” Cristian Massacesi, Chief Medical Officer and Oncology Chief Development Officer, AstraZeneca, said: “NIAGARA was the first Phase III trial of a perioperative immunotherapy regimen in muscle-invasive bladder cancer to show statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in event-free and overall survival. The 33 percent reduction in the risk of distant metastases, which are associated with a poorer prognosis, further reinforces the potential of perioperative IMFINZIto become a new standard of care in this setting.” These new data build on findings presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress and published in The New England Journal of Medicine which showed NIAGARA met the primary endpoint of EFS and the key secondary endpoint of OS. In the ITT population, patients treated with the IMFINZI perioperative regimen showed a 32% reduction in the risk of disease progression, recurrence, not undergoing surgery, or death versus the comparator arm, as well as a 25% reduction in the risk of death. There was also a 10% improvement in the pCR rate versus the comparator arm. Summary of exploratory post-hoc analysis: NIAGARA Summary of additional secondary endpoint outcomes (ITT): NIAGARA IMFINZI was generally well tolerated, and no new safety signals were observed in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings. Further, adding IMFINZIto neoadjuvant chemotherapy was consistent with the known profile for this combination and did not compromise patients’ ability to complete surgery compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone. Immune-mediated adverse events (imAEs) were consistent with the known profile of IMFINZI, manageable and mostly low-grade. Perioperative IMFINZI in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy was granted Priority Review in the US in December 2024 for the treatment of patients with MIBC.Regulatory applications are also currently under review in the European Union (EU), Japan and several other countries based on the NIAGARA trial. Indications: IMFINZI, as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has not progressed following concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy and radiation therapy (cCRT). IMFINZI in combination with platinum-containing chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment, followed by IMFINZI continued as a single agent as adjuvant treatment after surgery, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with resectable (tumors ≥4 cm and/or node positive) NSCLC and no known epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements. IMFINZI, in combination with IMJUDO and platinum-based chemotherapy, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic NSCLC with no sensitizing EGFR mutations or ALK genomic tumor aberrations. IMFINZI, as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) whose disease has not progressed following concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy and radiation therapy (cCRT). IMFINZI, in combination with etoposide and either carboplatin or cisplatin, is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). IMFINZI, in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer (BTC). IMFINZI in combination with IMJUDO is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC). IMFINZI in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel followed by IMFINZI as a single agent is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer that is mismatch repair deficient (dMMR). Please see additional Important Safety Information throughout and Full Prescribing Information including Medication Guide for IMFINZI and IMJUDO . You may report side effects related to AstraZeneca products . Notes Muscle-invasive bladder cancer Bladder cancer is the 9th most common cancer in the world, with more than 614,000 patients diagnosed each year. 1 The most common type of bladder cancer is urothelial carcinoma, which begins in the urothelial cells of the urinary tract. 2 Approximately one in four patients with bladder cancer has evidence of the tumor invading the muscle wall of the bladder (without distant metastases), known as MIBC. 3-4 In MIBC, a curative-intent setting, approximately 117,000 patients are treated with the current standard of care, which includes neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical cystectomy. 5-6 However, even after cystectomy, approximately 50% of patients experience disease recurrence and have a poor prognosis. 6 Treatment options that prevent disease recurrence after surgery are critically needed in this curative-intent setting. NIAGARA NIAGARA is a randomized, open-label, multi-center, global Phase III trial evaluating perioperative IMFINZI as treatment for patients with MIBC before and after radical cystectomy. In the trial, 1,063 patients were randomized to receive IMFINZI plus neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to cystectomy followed by IMFINZI , or neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone prior to cystectomy with no further treatment after surgery. NIAGARA is the largest global Phase III trial in this setting. The trial is being conducted at 192 centers across 22 countries including in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Its dual primary endpoints are EFS and pCR, the latter defined as the proportion of patients with no detectable cancer cells (T0N0M0) at the time of cystectomy. Key secondary endpoints are OS and safety. IMFINZI IMFINZI ® (durvalumab) is a human monoclonal antibody that binds to the PD-L1 protein and blocks the interaction of PD-L1 with the PD-1 and CD80 proteins, countering the tumor’s immune-evading tactics and releasing the inhibition of immune responses. IMFINZI is the global standard of care based on OS in the curative-intent setting of unresectable, Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients whose disease has not progressed after chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Additionally, IMFINZI is approved as a perioperative treatment in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in resectable NSCLC, and in combination with a short course of IMJUDO ® (tremelimumab-actl) and chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic NSCLC. IMFINZIis also approved for limited-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in patients whose disease has not progressed following concurrent platinum-based CRT; and in combination with chemotherapy (etoposide and either carboplatin or cisplatin) for the treatment of extensive-stage SCLC. In addition to its indications in lung cancers, IMFINZI is approved in combination with chemotherapy (gemcitabine plus cisplatin) in locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer and in combination with IMJUDOin unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). IMFINZI is also approved as a monotherapy in unresectable HCC in Japan and the EU. IMFINZIis also approved in combination with chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel) followed by IMFINZImonotherapy in primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer that is mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) in the US. In the EU, IMFINZIplus chemotherapy followed by olaparib and IMFINZIis approved for patients with mismatch repair proficient (pMMR) advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, and IMFINZI plus chemotherapy followed by IMFINZIalone is approved for patients with dMMR disease. In Japan, IMFINZI plus chemotherapy followed by IMFINZImonotherapy has also been approved as 1st-line treatment in primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, and IMFINZI plus chemotherapy followed by IMFINZI and olaparib has been approved for patients with pMMR disease. Since the first approval in May 2017, more than 374,000 patients have been treated with IMFINZI. As part of a broad development program, IMFINZI is being tested as a single treatment and in combinations with other anti-cancer treatments for patients with SCLC, NSCLC, bladder cancer, breast cancer, several gastrointestinal and gynaecologic cancers, and other solid tumors. AstraZeneca in immuno-oncology (IO) AstraZeneca is a pioneer in introducing the concept of immunotherapy into dedicated clinical areas of high unmet medical need. The Company has a comprehensive and diverse IO portfolio and pipeline anchored in immunotherapies designed to overcome evasion of the anti-tumor immune response and stimulate the body’s immune system to attack tumors. AstraZeneca strives to redefine cancer care and help transform outcomes for patients with IMFINZI as a monotherapy and in combination with IMJUDO as well as other novel immunotherapies and modalities. The Company is also investigating next-generation immunotherapies like bispecific antibodies and therapeutics that harness different aspects of immunity to target cancer, including cell therapy and T-cell engagers. AstraZeneca is pursuing an innovative clinical strategy to bring IO-based therapies that deliver long-term survival to new settings across a wide range of cancer types. The Company is focused on exploring novel combination approaches to help prevent treatment resistance and drive longer immune responses. With an extensive clinical program, the Company also champions the use of IO treatment in earlier disease stages, where there is the greatest potential for cure. AstraZeneca in oncology AstraZeneca is leading a revolution in oncology with the ambition to provide cures for cancer in every form, following the science to understand cancer and all its complexities to discover, develop and deliver life-changing medicines to patients. The Company’s focus is on some of the most challenging cancers. It is through persistent innovation that AstraZeneca has built one of the most diverse portfolios and pipelines in the industry, with the potential to catalyze changes in the practice of medicine and transform the patient experience. AstraZeneca has the vision to redefine cancer care and, one day, eliminate cancer as a cause of death. AstraZeneca AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases and BioPharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 125 countries, and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more information, please visit www.astrazeneca-us.com and follow us on socia media @AstraZeneca . References SOURCE: AstraZeneca