Investors bet on AstraZeneca’s experimental breast cancer drug following positive trial
Shares rose in AstraZeneca today on the back of progress made with its breast cancer treatment, which combines its older Faslodex drug with a new experimental offering.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the world, with around 2.3 million patients diagnosed with the disease in 2020.
It follows a disappointing result in a late-stage trial of its asthma drug Fasenra yesterday, after it missed a key marker in reducing difficulties swallowing.
The breast cancer drugs, Capivasertib and Faslodex in comination, “significantly improved” progression-free survival, the pharmaceutical giant said in a statement.
While the overall survival data remains “immature”, the company called the early data “encouraging”.
Shares jumped by 2.8 per cent to 10,026p per share just before market close.
“This potential new medicine could give people more time with their cancer under control, which is a priority for patients and their families,” Professor of Molecular Oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Nicholas Turner, said.