AstraZeneca shares drop as lung cancer trial update lags expectations
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[July 03, 2023]
By Maggie Fick and Ludwig Burger
(Reuters) - AstraZeneca said on Monday an experimental precision drug
slowed progression of lung cancer in a late-stage trial, but the
company's shares fell as much as 6% as analysts said the benefits may
not be as pronounced as hoped.
The drug, datopotamab deruxtecan, which is being jointly developed with
Japan's Daiichi Sankyo, was shown to prolong progression-free survival
compared with standard chemotherapy in patients whose non-small cell
lung cancer had returned after one or two prior treatment attempts,
AstraZeneca said.
The drug belongs to a promising class known as antibody drug conjugates
(ADC), which consist of tumour-seeking monoclonal antibodies that are
combined with a cell-killing chemotherapy payload.
The British drugmaker also said some trial participants had died of
interstitial lung disease, or scarring of lung tissue, but added that
the drug's safety profile was in line with observations during previous
clinical trials.
It declined to provide more trial details, saying they would be
presented at an as yet undisclosed medical conference.
At 0855 GMT, shares in AstraZeneca were down 5.8% at their lowest level
in more than three months.
The drug's cell-killing molecules attach themselves to a protein known
as TROP2, which is associated with a large majority of lung cancers.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/03/images/ads/current/napa_sda_HEROES_2023.png)
Gilead has pioneered the targeting of TROP2 with an ADC named Trodelvy,
approved to treat certain types of breast and bladder cancer.
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![](../images/070323PIX/health21.jpg)
Test tubes are seen in front of a
displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/03/images/ads/current/peasley_lda_051513.png) Merck & Co and partner Kelun-Biotech
of China are at an earlier development stage with a drug candidate
in the same class.
AstraZeneca acquired the collaboration rights to the experimental
drug in a 2020 deal worth up to $6 billion with Daiichi, including
up to $4 billion contingent on sales, which intensified their
successful pact on ADC drug Enhertu against breast cancer and other
tumours.
AstraZeneca said that the datopotamab deruxtecan trial would
continue as planned to assess the effect of the drug on overall
survival of patients, another important efficacy criterion.
Barclays said in an analyst note that the trial was successful but
until there is more data, some investors and analysts will have
concerns that the treatment may not have the potential to become a
treatment of first choice after diagnosis.
"We think that it’s certainly far too early to write off Dato-DXd
and we like AZN for a number of reasons, so we would view any
negative reaction today as a buying opportunity," the note read.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick in London, Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and
Sinchita Mitra in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Lucy Raitano in
London; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Susan Fenton)
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