Why Is AstraZeneca Stock Trading Lower Today?

AstraZeneca Plc AZN shares are trading lower after a data abstract on its experimental drug, datopotamab deruxtecan, for lung cancer patients in a late-stage trial disappointed some analysts.

The abstract was published before the European Society for Medical Oncology's (ESMO) congress.

The OSIRAM-1 Phase 2 trial evaluated Tagrisso (osimertinib) plus ramucirumab (Osi+Ram) versus osimertinib (Osi) alone as initial chemotherapy for EGFR mutation-positive non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer.

Between November 2018 and April 2020, 122 patients were enrolled.

With a median follow-up of 36.0 months, the median PFS was 20.0 m for Osi+Ram arm and 24.0 months for the Osi arm, resulting in a hazard ratio of 1.054 (p=0.82). 

The overall response rate was 77.2% and 79.3%, with a median duration of response of 24.7 months and 25.1 months in the Osi+Ram and Osi arms, respectively. 

The abstract concludes that while both treatment arms demonstrated long-term effects with acceptable toxicity, the study did not reveal an advantage of the Osi+Ram combination over Osi monotherapy in improving progression-free survival.

Citing Jefferies analyst, Reuters noted that the data was "worse-than-expected," citing that the drug only improved the time patients with non-small cell lung cancer live without their disease worsening by 0.7 months compared to chemotherapy. The analyst was expecting an improvement of 1.5-2 months.

The data abstracts, which also included details on the drug from a breast cancer trial, did not "drive excitement" and were unlikely to result in any changes to forecast numbers for the drug, Reuters reported, noting Guggenheim Securities analyst.

The analyst added that progression-free survival in lung cancer patients came in below expectations.

Price Action: AZN shares are down 5.51% at $65.46 on the last check Wednesday.