Imdelltra-Imfinzi Combo Cuts Death Risk 58% in First-Line Small-Cell Lung Cancer
AMGN sits 56% above its 52-week low of $288 on light trading volume (0.1× avg).
Summary
Amgen's Imdelltra paired with AstraZeneca's Imfinzi cut the risk of death by 58% versus Imfinzi alone as first-line maintenance in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer, per interim Phase 3 DeLLphi-305 data presented at ESMO 2026 and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Median overall survival reached 21.1 months against 12.7 months for monotherapy, with 80% of combination patients alive at one year versus 53%. Progression-free survival was 7.4 months versus 1.9 months, a 66% reduction in progression or death risk, and objective response rate was 26.4% versus 4.1%. Safety was in line with each drug's known profile; cytokine release syndrome occurred in 49.6% of patients, almost all Grade 1-2 with no Grade 4 or higher events. This is the strongest dataset yet for Imdelltra, which already showed a five-month survival gain over chemotherapy in the previously treated DeLLphi-304 setting, and it supports a first-line label expansion that would materially widen the addressable population. Amgen carries the larger commercial stake as Imdelltra's owner, though AstraZeneca benefits through Imfinzi's entrenched position in the same regimen. The readout lands against a rough stretch for Amgen: shares fell more than 9% in September after Novartis's pelacarsen cardiovascular failure, and Tavneos remains under UK and FDA withdrawal pressure.
At the time of this announcement, AMGN was trading at $448.79 on NASDAQ in the Life Sciences sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $242.6B. The 52-week trading range was $288.00 to $450.98. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Benzinga.