On June 2, 2025 PharmaMar (MSE:PHM) reported positive results from the Phase 3 IMforte study of Zepzelca (lurbinectedin) in combination with atezolizumab (Tecentriq) as a first-line maintenance treatment for people with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), following induction therapy with carboplatin, etoposide and atezolizumab (Press release, PharmaMar, JUN 2, 2025, View Source [SID1234653632]). The study met both primary endpoints, demonstrating statistically significant improvements in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to atezolizumab alone.
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IMforte is the first global Phase 3 trial to demonstrate clinically meaningful PFS and OS benefits in the first-line maintenance setting for ES-SCLC and supports maintenance therapy with lurbinectedin plus atezolizumab as a new standard of care for patients. The data were presented today in an oral session at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in Chicago and published simultaneously in The Lancet. Data from the trial served as the basis for the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) submission to the FDA by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, as well as for the submission of a Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) by PharmaMar.
Following induction therapy with carboplatin, etoposide and atezolizumab, patients who did not have disease progression were randomized to receive lurbinectedin plus atezolizumab or atezolizumab alone. From the point of randomization, the median PFS was 5.4 months for the lurbinectedin plus atezolizumab combination versus 2.1 months for atezolizumab alone (stratified HR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.43–0.67; p < 0.0001), and median OS was 13.2 months versus 10.6 months (stratified hazard ratio [HR] = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.57–0.95; p = 0.0174). The combination reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 46% and the risk of death by 27% compared to atezolizumab alone. The lurbinectedin plus atezolizumab combination had no new or unexpected safety signals.
"Small cell lung cancer is an aggressive and devastating disease; at the time of diagnosis, the large majority of patients have already progressed to extensive-stage disease and only one out of five survive longer than two years," said Luis Paz-Ares, M.D., Ph.D., head of medical oncology at the Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre in Madrid, Spain, and the IMforte trial principal investigator. "The IMforte results are very encouraging showing a potentially practice-changing option that could improve survival for patients with a very high unmet need."
"Upon approval, patients will have access to lurbinectedin earlier in the treatment paradigm, where there’s potential to increase duration of response in a broader patient population, delaying disease progression and extending survival," said Javier Jiménez Jiménez, Chief Medical Officer of PharmaMar.
Each year, approximately 63,000 to 72,000 new cases of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) are reported in Europe. Most of these patients are diagnosed with extensive stage disease, which is aggressive and often difficult to treat, with poor prognosis.