Astra unveils successful cancer drug trials

ASTRAZENECA has unveiled full data for two successful lung cancer drug trials earlier this year, as the FTSE 100 drug maker tries to rebound from a separate trial for a more advanced version of the condition that came up negative and wiped £10bn from its market value over the summer.

The first of the two successful trials, Pacific, used the same drug Imfinzi that led to the stock blowout over the summer. But in this trial with patients with a less advanced form of lung cancer, called stage three, it was proved to improve people’s chances of living without the cancer getting worse by more than 11 months, compared to the current standard of care.

The second trial, Flaura, of another drug Tagrisso, reduced the risk of progression or death by more than half in patients with a particular genetic indicator and form of lung cancer. Astrazeneca hopes the news, which is being unveiled at an international conference for cancer therapies in Madrid attended by 20,000 drug makers and scientists, will provide fresh evidence of progress at its under-pressure oncology division.

Commenting on the Pacific results, Sean Bohen, chief medical officer for Astrazeneca, told The Daily Telegraph: “These results are incredibly encouraging for a patient population that until now has been without treatment options.” Astrazeneca is adamant Imfinzi, an immuno-oncology drug that boosts the body’s immune system to kill cancer cells, can still deliver blockbuster returns.