An illustrative photo of a person holding a syringe and a vial of COVID-19 vaccine in front of the AstraZeneca logo displayed on a screen, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Arthur Wedak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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AstraZeneca Shares in British pharmaceutical giant ABC fell more than 5% on Tuesday morning, the biggest daily drop in seven months, after the company reported disappointing results from trials of a lung cancer drug.
The Covid-19 vaccine maker was trading at the bottom of the FTSE 100 and dragged the broader healthcare sector lower after data published on Monday showed its experimental drug datopatamb deruxtecan did not significantly improve overall survival outcomes for patients.
Shares were down 4.8% by 11:00 a.m. London time.
Late-stage results from the TROPION-Lung01 Phase 3 trial showed that the overall survival rate of the new drug “did not reach statistical significance,” the company said.
The company's drug Dato-DXd was tested against the chemotherapy docetaxel in patients whose non-small cell lung cancer had returned after one or two previous treatment attempts.
The results showed “clinically meaningful” trends toward improved survival among patients with advanced lung cancer, said Susan Galbraith, executive vice president of oncology research and development at AstraZeneca.
The drug's clinical trials have been watched closely by investors who hope it will be another blockbuster drug after the success of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Cambridge, England-based company.
Previous trials in July 2023 also disappointed markets despite showing some success in stopping cancer progression.
The drug, which is being developed in collaboration with Japanese company Daiichi Sankyo, is seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, which is scheduled to be issued in December.
The picture was “mixed” for the drug but confidence in approval “remains high,” Citigroup said in a note, even as Monday's results added more complexity to the picture.
“We believe the data creates more complexity and therefore, if anything, slightly increases approval risk in the short term,” analysts wrote in a note on Monday.
