AstraZeneca asthma drug fails to meet end goal in COPD trials

(Sharecast News) - AstraZeneca said on Monday that asthma drug Fasenra had failed to meet core targets in trials involving patients with severe lung disease. The drugs giant said phase III trials into Fasenra, which is already approved as an add-on maintenance treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma, had shown numerical improvement.

However, despite that, the drug had not achieved statistical significance in the primary endpoint in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Sharon Barr, executive vice president for biopharmaceuticals research and development at the blue chip, said: "COPD, which remains a leading cause of death worldwide, is a complex, heterogeneous disease and we continue to advance other promising approaches in our pipeline to address the unmet needs of patients."

Separately, AstraZeneca also provided an update on research into Saphnelo, its monoclonal antibody treatment.

It said there had been "positive" high-level results from a pre-specified interim analysis of phase III trial in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

In particular, it showed that the subcutaneous administration of Saphnelo demonstrated a "statistically significant and clinically meaningful" reduction in disease activity compared to placebo.

Barr said the analysis "takes us one step closer in making the clinically meaningful benefits of Saphnelo accessible for more patients with SLE".

SLE affects around 3.4m globally.

Shares in AstraZeneca shed 1% as trading got underway, at 11,256p.