A new lung cancer drug beat the current standard on survival. Here is the detail
What happened
Results from a large lung cancer trial were presented on 12 September 2026 at the World Conference on Lung Cancer, run by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. The trial is called HARMONi-2. It compared two drugs given on their own as a first treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer, in patients whose tumours carry a marker called PD-L1. One drug was pembrolizumab. That is an established immunotherapy, already used widely, including on the NHS. It is the drug this kind of new treatment has to beat. The other was ivonescimab. It is newer and works differently. It is what scientists call a bispecific antibody, which means a single molecule designed to grab hold of two targets at once rather than one. In a planned interim analysis, people given ivonescimab lived longer. Median overall survival was 30.8 months, compared with 22.6 months for pembrolizumab. The difference was statistically significant, with a hazard ratio of 0.73 and a p-value of 0.009. The trial was conducted in China by the company Akeso.
Why this matters
Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the UK. Around 35,000 people die of it here every year. Many are diagnosed late, when the cancer has already spread and cure is no longer the aim. For those patients, the question is not usually 'can this be cured'. It is 'how much good time can treatment give me, and at what cost to how I feel'. Immunotherapy changed that picture over the last decade. Pembrolizumab in particular turned advanced lung cancer from something measured in months into something that, for some people, is measured in years. So a drug that beats pembrolizumab on survival is genuinely important news. An extra eight months of median survival is not a rounding error. For a person and their family, that is a birthday, a Christmas, a grandchild being born. The word 'median' matters too. It means the middle of the range. Half of people did better than that figure, half did worse. It is not a promise to any individual.
What the evidence actually says
This is strong data. It is also data that needs reading carefully, and the researchers themselves have been open about why. First, the trial was carried out entirely in China. That is not a criticism of the science, but it does raise a fair question. Patient populations differ between countries, in genetics, in smoking history, in what other treatments people have had. A result from one country does not automatically transfer to another. This is a well known issue in cancer research, not a new objection invented for this drug. That is precisely why a second, international trial exists. It is called HARMONi-7, and it is testing the same comparison across multiple countries. Until it reports, the honest position is that this looks very promising rather than proven everywhere. Second, this was an interim analysis. That means the trial looked at its data before the end. Interim results are planned and legitimate, but final numbers sometimes shift. Third, this was presented at a conference. The full peer-reviewed paper is the version that specialists will scrutinise line by line. And fourth, ivonescimab is not licensed in the UK. It has not been through the MHRA, and NICE has not assessed whether the NHS should fund it. None of that happens quickly.
Practical advice
If you or someone close to you has lung cancer, the most useful thing you can do with this news is bring it to your oncology team rather than act on it alone. Ask directly: is there a trial I could join, and would this class of drug be relevant to my type of cancer? Asking about trials is normal and welcomed. Many UK hospitals run them, and your consultant would rather you asked than assumed the answer was no. If you are on immunotherapy now, keep going as planned. Do not let a headline unsettle a treatment that is working. More generally: the single biggest thing that improves lung cancer survival is still finding it earlier. If you are aged 55 to 74 and have ever smoked, you may be eligible for the NHS lung cancer screening programme. It is a quick scan and it finds cancers while they are still small. And if you have had a cough for three weeks or more, or you cough up blood, get it checked. Most of the time it is nothing. Occasionally it is everything.
What to know
In a phase 3 trial presented on 12 September 2026, the bispecific antibody ivonescimab gave a median overall survival of 30.8 months in advanced PD-L1-positive lung cancer, against 22.6 months for pembrolizumab. The result was statistically significant. The trial was run in China, and an international trial is still under way. The drug is not licensed or available in the UK, and NICE has not assessed it. This is a real step forward in a field that badly needs them. It is not something you can ask for at your next appointment. Do ask about clinical trials, and do take up lung screening if you are invited. Sources: Medical Xpress, 'Ivonescimab significantly improves overall survival versus pembrolizumab in advanced lung cancer', 12 September 2026, https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-ivonescimab-significantly-survival-pembrolizumab-advanced.html ; International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, HARMONi-2 results presented at the IASLC 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer, 12 September 2026, https://www.iaslc.org ; PR Newswire, 'Ivonescimab Versus Pembrolizumab in First-Line PD-L1-Positive NSCLC: Positive Overall Survival Results from HARMONi-2 Presented at WCLC 2026', 12 September 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ivonescimab-versus-pembrolizumab-in-first-line-pd-l1-positive-nsclc-positive-overall-survival-results-from-harmoni-2-presented-at-wclc-2026-302876953.html This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. Decisions about cancer treatment should always be made with your oncology team.
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