Ivonescimab significantly improves overall survival versus pembrolizumab in advanced lung cancer
Ivonescimab significantly prolonged overall survival compared with pembrolizumab as first-line treatment for patients with PD-L1-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a prespecified interim analysis of the phase 3 HARMONi-2 trial presented today at the IASLC 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer.
A new analysis of the phase 3 HARMONi-2 trial has found that the first-in-class PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody ivonescimab significantly extends overall survival compared to the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab in patients with treatment-naive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that is PD-L1 positive. The trial enrolled 398 patients at centers in China between November 2022 and August 2023.
Patients were randomly assigned to receive ivonescimab or pembrolizumab and followed for a median of 30.8 months with ivonescimab versus 22.6 months with pembrolizumab (HR 0.73; 95% CI 0.57--0.95; P=0.009). The survival benefit was consistent across subgroups of patients with squamous or nonsquamous histology and different levels of PD-L1 expression.
While ivonescimab was associated with more treatment-related adverse events, the safety profile was comparable to pembrolizumab in terms of serious adverse events, discontinuations, and immune-related events.
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