Akeso's Ivonescimab Cuts Death Risk 27% vs Keytruda in NSCLC Trial
Hong Kong – September 16, 2026 -- Akeso, Inc. (9926.HK) reported that its bispecific antibody ivonescimab reduced the risk of death by 27% compared with Merck's pembrolizumab in a Phase III trial of PD-L1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with results presented as a Late-Breaking Abstract at the 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC).
Ivonescimab extends median survival to 30.8 months in head-to-head trial
In the intention-to-treat population of the HARMONi-2 study (AK112-303), patients treated with ivonescimab monotherapy achieved a median overall survival (OS) of 30.8 months versus 22.6 months for pembrolizumab (HR=0.73; 95% CI: 0.57–0.95; P=0.009). The data cutoff was August 20, 2026, with a median follow-up of 36 months and 234 OS events recorded. Professor Caicun Zhou, principal investigator and IASLC President, is scheduled to deliver the full oral presentation on September 15.