(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC on Thursday said it observed positive high-level results in the Echo phase 3 trial of its Calquence treatment for previously untreated adult patients with mantle cell lymphoma.

Mantle cell lymphoma is a rare and typically aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, often diagnosed as a late-stage disease.

The Cambridge, UK-based pharmaceuticals manufacturer said an interim analysis of the trial showed Calquence, in combination with chemoimmunotherapy, bendamustine and rituximab, demonstrated a "statistically significant and clinically meaningful" improvement in progression-free survival.

AstraZeneca also said a trend was observed in favour of Calquence plus chemoimmunotherapy for the secondary endpoint of overall survival. It noted the data on this was not mature at the time of analysis and so the trial will continue to assess overall survival.

It said the safety and tolerability of Calquence was consistent with its known safety profile and no new safety signals were identified, while it intends to present the data at a forthcoming medical meeting and shared with global regulatory authorities.

"These impactful results in mantle cell lymphoma show that bringing Calquence to the first-line setting significantly delays disease progression and, for the first time, shows potential to extend survival," said Susan Galbraith, executive vice president in Oncology Research & Development at AstraZeneca.

"The improvement in progression-free survival together with the differentiated safety profile of Calquence are both important as we strive to transform outcomes earlier in the course of disease treatment."

Shares in AstraZeneca were up 0.4% to 12,212.00 pence each in London on Thursday morning.

By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News senior reporter

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