Ivonescimab Plus Chemotherapy Extends Median Survival by Four Months vs Tislelizumab in Chinese Lung Cancer Trial

An experimental lung cancer drug from Akeso and Summit Therapeutics reduced the risk of death by 34 percent in a late-stage trial, according to data released Sunday. 9 months. 7 months.

The four-month improvement came from data presented Sunday at the ASCO meeting. Bleeding of any severity occurred in almost one-quarter of people in the ivonescimab group. That rate was twice the level recorded in the control group.

Less than 3 percent of bleeding cases in the ivonescimab group were considered severe, while about 1 percent of people who received the PD-1 drug tislelizumab had severe bleeding. Dr. Deborah Doroshow, associate professor of medicine, hematology and medical oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said the survival gain is not clear in its clinical meaning.

"It's certainly, it's not two months, but it's also not a huge difference, and I think in terms of whether or not living four months longer is meaningful absolutely depends on the person who is living it," she said. Doroshow serves on the steering committee for the ongoing Harmoni-3 global trial of ivonescimab.

People receiving immunotherapy in the control group lived an average of six months longer than expected.

Emory's Ramalingam said one possible reason is that the study was conducted in China, where people have historically responded better to standalone PD-1 and VEGF drugs. "There is a new approach in squamous cell lung cancer that extends survival by about four months, which is a substantial improvement given that this is a patient population where progress has come in small steps," he said.

Summit plans to report progression-free survival results from squamous patients in the global Harmoni-3 trial in the second half of 2026.

It expects to share results from non-squamous patients in the first half of 2027. Keytruda generated more than $30 billion in sales for Merck last year and has 44 indications. Licensing deals involving PD-1 drugs reached $30 billion last year, nearly doubling the previous peak of $16 billion in 2017.

An experimental antibody drug conjugate from Merck and partner Kelun cut the risk of tumor progression by 65 percent in a study of lung cancer conducted in China. Data from that trial are also being presented this weekend at the ASCO meeting. Dr.

Marjorie Green, Merck's head of global oncology clinical development, said the company does not expect PD-1/VEGF drugs to become the next Keytruda. "It's an exciting time in oncology," she said.