AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (NYSE:AZN) stock was hit hard Thursday on poor results for its new lung cancer drug.
AstraZeneca plc (ADR)’s Phase III Mystic trial for Imfinzi didn’t turn in the results the company was expecting and it was bad news for AZN stock. One of the primary endpoints in the trial was the drug’s ability to improve progression-free survival compared to platinum-based standard-of-care “in patients whose tumors express PD-L1 on 25% or more of their cancer cells,” when combined with tremelimumab.
The combination of Imfinzi and tremelimumab didn’t meet the primary endpoint that AstraZeneca plc (ADR) was hoping for from this test, which was a bad sign for AZN stock. The company also notes that the drug wasn’t tested for, but would have missed, a secondary endpoint of Imfinzi monotherapy reaching a certain level for progression-free survival compared to platinum-based standard-of-care.
AstraZeneca plc (ADR)’s Phase III Mystic trial for Imfinzi isn’t complete yet. There are still two primary endpoints that researchers and working toward. The trial for the drug is currently expected to reach completion in the first half of 2018.
“While the results from the MYSTIC trial for progression-free survival in first-line Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer compared with standard of care are disappointing, the trial was designed to assess overall survival and we look forward to evaluating the remaining primary endpoints of overall survival for both mono- and combination therapy,” Sean Bohen, Executive Vice President of Global Medicines Development and AstraZeneca plc (ADR)’s Chief Medical Officer, said in a statement.
AZN stock was down 14% as of noon Thursday and is up 5% year-to-date.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
