Trial: AstraZeneca’s cancer drug Imfinzi has failed a key clinical trial
AstraZeneca suffered a blow after one of its cancer drugs failed a key clinical trial.
The FTSE 100 pharma group, run by Pascal Soriot, said its treatment Imfinzi had failed to meet its main goal of helping to treat stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer when given alongside chemotherapy.
AstraZeneca added that the trial showed the drug had not made a statistically significant improvement in survival rates of patients when compared to chemotherapy alone.
‘We will learn from this trial,’ said Susan Galbraith, Astra’s head of oncology research.
AstraZeneca shares dipped 0.6 per cent, or 62p, to 10,186p.
Imfinzi is approved in several countries to treat ailments including biliary tract cancer as well as hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of cancer more common in people with liver cirrhosis when the organ is scarred by repeated damage.
Last week the group entered the race to develop a weight-loss drug after striking a £1.6billion deal with Chinese medical firm Eccogene.
