AstraZeneca Plc's ambition to become one of the world's five largest drugmakers suffered a major blow after a setback in a pivotal lung-cancer drug trial. The company's shares plunged by a record amount following the announcement of the trial results.
The trial, dubbed Mystic, tested a combination of two immuno-therapies, a new class of drugs designed to activate the body's defense system against tumors. However, this drug combination failed to outperform chemotherapy in checking the growth of lung tumors in certain patients.
Analysts had projected that these drugs, particularly the Imfinzi treatment, could generate over $7 billion in sales by 2022, making it AstraZeneca's best-selling medicine. The failure of this trial significantly impacts these revenue expectations.
