Akeso, Summit cancer drug confirms lung cancer survival benefit
A new data cut of a trial pitting ivonescimab, a bispecific antibody, against Merck’s Keytruda showed the new drug helped people live longer.
HONG KONG, Sept. 3, 2026 - Akeso, Inc. announced that a pre-specified interim analysis of the HARMONi-2 trial met the key secondary endpoint of overall survival (OS). The study compared ivonescimab, Akeso's PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody, with pembrolizumab for first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with PD-L1 expression (TPS ≥1%).
The results showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in OS with ivonescimab compared to pembrolizumab. The trial is a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, registrational Phase III study. The pre-specified interim analysis in May 2024 also showed a significant benefit for ivonescimab in progression-free survival (PFS), with a median PFS of 11.14 months versus 5.82 months for pembrolizumab.
This marks the first randomized, double-blind Phase III trial to demonstrate a positive outcome against pembrolizumab in this setting. The approval in China in 2025 removed restrictions on VEGF-targeted agents in patients with squamous histology, providing a chemotherapy-free treatment option that has been well received in clinical practice.
Akeso's CEO, Dr. Yu Xia, expressed satisfaction with the results, stating they reinforce the clinical value of ivonescimab in lung cancer treatment. The company highlighted the growing body of evidence supporting ivonescimab's potential across a broader range of solid tumors, given its unique dual mechanism of action combining immunotherapy and anti-angiogenesis.
Written by urgent.news from Vietnam Investment Review's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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