Disappointing late-stage trial results for a closely watched lung cancer drug have dealt a blow to AstraZeneca.
The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals company expressed its confidence in datopotamab deruxtecan, or Dato-DXd, when it presented overall survival data for the treatment at a world lung cancer congress in San Diego, but analysts promptly questioned the strength of the possible benefits.
That, in turn, weighed on AstraZeneca’s share price, which was down by 306p, or 2.4 per cent, at £124.06 at the close.
Unveiling results from a phase III trial of Dato-DXd in treating a type of non-small cell lung cancer, compared with standard chemotherapy, the Cambridge-based company said that results for the study, in patients who had undergone at least one previous therapy, showed a “clinically meaningful