AstraZeneca reports a win and a loss in drug trials

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AstraZeneca reported  a win and a loss in research findings announced this week.

The company announced positive results from a  Phase III  trial which showed that Farxiga resulted in a meaningful reduction of cardiovascular death or the worsening of heart failure.

AstraZeneca announced disappointing  results from the  Neptune  trial that used  Imfinzi  in combination with tremelimumab in treating Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer

In regard to Farxiga, Mene Pangalos, executive vice president, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, said: “With the DAPA-HF trial, Farxiga becomes the first in its class to demonstrate efficacy and safety data for the treatment of patients with heart failure, with and without type-2 diabetes, on top of standard of care. Today, half of heart failure patients will die within five years of diagnosis and it remains one of the leading causes of hospitalization. We look forward to discussing the results of DAPA-HF with health authorities as soon as possible.”

The full trial results of both trials  will be submitted for presentation at  forthcoming medical meetings.

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Shares of AstraZeneca have been trading near a 52-week high.

In regard to the Imfinzi-tremelimumab trial,  José Baselga, executive vice president, oncology R&D said: “We are fully committed to a deep analysis of the vast clinical and biomarker data from this trial to gain further insights to improve Immuno-Oncology approaches for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.”

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women and accounts for about one-fifth of all cancer deaths.

AstraZeneca employs about 1,500 in northern Delaware.

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