AstraZeneca Farxiga Drug Doesn't Work Against COVID-19

AstraZeneca Plc AZN said Monday its diabetes drug Farxiga failed to achieve the main endpoints in a late-stage trial, dubbed DARE-19, for effectiveness against COVID-19.

What Happened: The U.K.-based drugmaker's trial showed that Farxiga doesn't reduce the risk of the disease worsening or death.

The drug was given to 1,250 patients, hospitalized with COVID-19, as part of the trial, for a period of 30 days. The trial participants were those with high risk of developing serious complications from the coronavirus and had histories of hypertension, type-2 diabetes, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, heart failure or chronic kidney disease.

AstraZeneca said the primary endpoint of recovery measuring a change in clinical status in the 30 day period wasn't met.

"The trial did not achieve statistical significance, the findings are very interesting and valuable, and will inform future clinical science," said Mikhail Kosiborod, principal investigator of DARE-19. 

"Also, of importance, we learned that dapagliflozin’s well-established safety profile was consistent in DARE-19.”

Why It Matters: Farxiga is among AstraZeneca's top-selling drugs for treating diabetes. The complete DARE-19 trial results will be presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions in May.

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine has faced trouble over being associated with the development of blood clots in some patients. Now, Johnson & Johnson's JNJ one-shot COVID-19 vaccine is facing an investigation over similar concerns from the European Medical Agency.

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine isn't approved for use in the United States. Johnson & Johnson, Moderna Inc. MRNA, and Pfizer Inc PFE/BioNTech SE's BNTX COVID-19 vaccines are approved for emergency use in the country.

Price Action: AstraZeneca shares closed 0.89% higher at $49.94 on Friday.