AstraZeneca halts Phase 3 lung cancer trial of bispecific antibody volrustomig after interim data miss survival goal

AstraZeneca announced termination of the Phase 3 study of its experimental bispecific antibody volrustomig in non‑small cell lung cancer.

An interim data review by trial monitors indicated the drug was unlikely to achieve a survival advantage over the standard regimen of Merck’s Keytruda combined with chemotherapy in patients whose tumors have low PD‑L1 expression.

The company had hoped that targeting the additional immune checkpoint CTLA‑4 would add benefit, and the drug is also being evaluated in mesothelioma, cervical and head‑and‑neck cancers as part of its broader pipeline aimed at reaching an $80 billion sales target by 2030.