AstraZeneca has halted a late-stage trial of its lung cancer treatment Volrustomig, marking its second major drug setback in over a month. The FTSE 100 company said the drug, when combined with chemotherapy, was unlikely to improve survival rates for lung cancer patients compared with existing treatments.
Trial halted on committee recommendation
The decision to stop the phase three trial followed a recommendation from the Independent Data Monitoring Committee after a planned review of trial data. This comes after AstraZeneca saw billions wiped off its market value in July when it stopped a trial for a new heart disease drug called Wainua.
Company response and ongoing research
Susan Galbraith, an executive vice president at AstraZeneca, expressed disappointment over the halt. She said: “While we are disappointed, we will learn from this trial and are determined to continue pioneering new medicines from our industry-leading pipeline in our quest to improve outcomes for patients with lung cancer.” Lung cancer is the biggest cause of cancer death, accounting for almost one in four (23%) of all cancer deaths.
AstraZeneca said it would continue trials of Volrustomig for other cancers, including cervical cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and mesothelioma. The Anglo-Swedish group, headquartered in Cambridge, also reported success with its Enhertu treatment, which showed “a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival” for non-small cell lung cancer patients. That treatment will now advance to a phase three trial.
Galbraith added: “This aggressive lung cancer often affects younger patients and has historically had limited first-line targeted treatment options, making these positive results an important step forward in bringing additional effective therapies to patients at metastatic diagnosis when there is the greatest opportunity to improve outcomes.” Shares in AstraZeneca rose 2% in early trading on Monday.
