Payer requirements, prescriber habits, and operational realities ultimately determine which ICI patients receive.
|Articles|November 10, 2021
Daily Medication Pearl: Durvalumab (Imfinzi) for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Author(s)Saro Arakelians, PharmD
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Key Takeaways
- Durvalumab is indicated for unresectable, stage III NSCLC, administered biweekly or monthly via injection.
- Common adverse events include cough, fatigue, pneumonitis, and upper respiratory tract infections.
Durvalumab is a human immunoglobulin G1 kappa monoclonal antibody that binds to PD-L1 and blocks the interaction of PD-L1 with PD-1 and CD80.
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Medication Pearl of the Day: Durvalumab (Imfinzi)
Indication: Imfinzi is a programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) blocking antibody indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable, stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Insight:
- Dosing: 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks or 1500 mg every 4 weeks.
- Dosage form: Injection 500 mg/10 mL (50 mg/mL) solution in a single-dose vial. Injection 120 mg/2.4 mL (50 mg/mL) solution in a single-dose vial.
- Adverse events (AEs): Most common AEs were cough, fatigue, pneumonitis/radiation pneumonitis, upper respiratory tract infections, dyspnea, and rash.
- Mechanism of action: Durvalumab is a human immunoglobulin G1 kappa monoclonal antibody that binds to PD-L1 and blocks the interaction of PD-L1 with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and CD80 (B7.1). Blockade of PD-L1/PD-1 and PD-L1/CD80 interactions releases the inhibition of immune responses, without inducing antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity.
- Manufacturer: AstraZeneca
Sources:
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