AstraZeneca Plc has announced promising results from a late-stage trial of its experimental breast cancer pill, camizestrant, Bloomberg reports.
The drug, when used in combination with another medication, demonstrated a “highly statistically significant” ability to delay cancer progression in patients.
The trial results, released Wednesday, sent AstraZeneca’s shares soaring as much as 2.3% in early London trading. The company’s stock has already risen over 16% in the past year. Analysts predict camizestrant could generate $1.5 billion in sales by 2030, with peak annual sales potentially reaching $5 billion.
These results mark the first positive readout of anticipated new medicines this year for AstraZeneca, which has been bolstering its presence in the competitive cancer treatment market under CEO Pascal Soriot. Drugs like Enhertu and Tagrisso have already been key drivers of growth for the company.
The trial specifically targeted patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-low or negative breast cancer, who also had a specific mutation. The study monitored patients for early signs of these mutations emerging. When detected prior to disease progression, patients were switched to camizestrant.
AstraZeneca noted that data on whether the drug combination improved overall survival rates was still preliminary at the time of the analysis, and the trial is ongoing to gather further data.
The earlier-than-expected results have been met with enthusiasm. Barclays analyst Emily Field described the findings as “a material positive surprise for AstraZeneca.”
