{
  "id": 3643427,
  "title": "China’s Akeso says cancer drug beat AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi in phase 3 trial",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/chinas-akeso-says-cancer-drug-beat-astrazenecas-imfinzi-in-phase-3",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-27T02:07:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SCMP Business",
    "slug": "scmp-business",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3365384/chinas-akeso-says-cancer-drug-beat-astrazenecas-imfinzi-phase-3-trial"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Chinese biopharmaceutical company Akeso announced on Wednesday that its immunotherapy drug ivonescimab outperformed AstraZeneca's Imfinzi in a head-to-head phase-three trial for biliary tract cancer. The trial, conducted on 682 patients with advanced biliary tract cancer, demonstrated that ivonescimab patients lived longer than those treated with the AstraZeneca treatment. The study marked the first positive phase-three result for ivonescimab in gastrointestinal tumors, potentially expanding the drug's use to other solid tumors. Akeso's founder, chairman, and CEO Xia Yu stated that the trial results were promising, though the exact survival figures from the trial have not been disclosed. The drug, previously licensed by US firm Summit Therapeutics, is also being applied for approval to treat NSCLC in the United States. Akeso has been conducting multiple trials to test ivonescimab on other cancer types, including colorectal cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The biopharma industry in China is increasingly competing with global giants like AstraZeneca, which generated over US$6 billion in revenue last year from sales of Imfinzi.",
  "summary": "Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Akeso announced on Wednesday that its immunotherapy drug had outperformed AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi in a head-to-head phase-three trial for biliary tract cancer. The result represents another breakthrough for Akeso’s ivonescimab – which has already been licensed by the US firm Summit Therapeutics in a multibillion-dollar deal – as China’s biopharma industry increasingly…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": "Akeso's successful trial positions ivonescimab as a potential competitor to AstraZeneca's Imfinzi in treating certain cancers, and may expand the drug's use to other solid tumors.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "China’s Akeso says cancer drug beat AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi in phase 3 trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/chinas-akeso-says-cancer-drug-beat-astrazenecas-imfinzi-in-phase-3-3645790",
        "published": "2026-08-27T02:07:51.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}