AstraZeneca’s lung cancer drug has shown better survival rates in trials.
The results were a boost for the pharmaceutical giant as it seeks to strengthen its project portfolio.
The British firm stated yesterday that the drug, which it is developing with the Japanese Daiichi Sankyo, could be “an important new treatment for patients.”
Last week, the FTSE 100 drugmaker outlined plans to almost double revenue by the end of the decade.
In his biggest report to investors in 10 years, AstraZeneca boss Sir Pascal Soriot hailed a “new era of growth” with the launch of 20 new drugs, focusing on cancer drugs.
Trials boost: AstraZeneca said its lung cancer drug, being developed with Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, could be “an important new treatment for patients”
Trials of datopotamab deruxtecan showed a “clinically significant improvement in overall survival” in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who had received prior treatment.
Susan Galbraith, executive vice president of oncology research at AstraZeneca, said yesterday: “These results reinforce the treatment’s potential to replace conventional chemotherapy in this late-line setting and underline our confidence in ongoing trials.”
But the firm said that in the larger test group, the treatment did not show a statistically significant improvement in survival rates.
Shares fell 2.2 percent amid fears that could overshadow regulatory discussions in the US and EU.
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca is pressing ahead with plans to boost revenue to £60bn by 2030.
Sales reached £36bn last year, a target set in 2014, shortly after Soriot defeated a takeover bid from US rival Pfizer.
The new earnings target was set after it faced an investor revolt over its £18.9m pay package.
Soriot has revived the company’s fortunes since taking the helm in 2012, with shares up more than 300 percent.
He is credited with rebuilding the drug portfolio with highly successful cancer treatments.
Some of the drugs in the pipeline have the potential to generate around £4 billion in revenue in a peak year, he said.
As part of its growth plans, AstraZeneca announced this month that it will open a £1.2bn factory in Singapore to make an anti-cancer drug that could replace traditional chemotherapy.