Shares of AstraZeneca fell 9 percent after a clinical trial of a late-stage heart disease drug failed to meet its goal.
The drug, Wainua, did not meet its primary goal of reducing deaths and heart-related emergencies over a 140-week period compared to placebo when adding the drug to a patient’s current treatment plan, the British drugmaker said in a press release earlier Thursday.
The treatment was for a rare, life-threatening heart condition called transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).
Jefferies analysts said the result did not jeopardize the company’s sales target of $80 billion by 2030 but noted that AstraZeneca was “overly reliant on the latter and the ability to strike collectively.”
“The biggest problem is probably the degree of loss of credibility when managers are too confident in the ability of the study to reach the main conclusion and the ability to show benefit over the background treatment,” the analysts added.
AstraZeneca confirmed that its existing license for Wainua was not affected by the trial results. The drug is already approved to treat conditions where misfolded proteins build up, causing nerve damage. It is sold in Europe as Wainzua.
This study examined a type of condition where folded proteins build up in heart tissue, hardening and making it harder to pump blood, eventually leading to heart failure. It is estimated that about half a million people live with this condition.
AstraZeneca’s London-listed shares in the last 12 months.
The stock was last seen down 8.8% in London, on track for its worst day since March 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak. NYSE-listed shares were down 8% in early trading.
Shares of Ionis Pharmaceuticalswhich co-develops Wainua in the US, fell 12.5% in market trading.
In the study group, most of the patients were already on a stabilizer that keeps the protein from misfolding in the first place. Because the patients were already receiving treatment for this, adding Wainua – a so-called gene silencer – in addition to the standard of care did not show a significant additional benefit in the group as a whole.
In patients not taking a stabilizer at first, Wainua showed a “significant” reduction in the risk of death and cardiovascular events compared to placebo, AstraZeneca said.
Still, Citi analysts said it was unlikely that AstraZeneca would be able to apply for more approvals from Wainua given the primary loss, as it was listed on Nasdaq. Alnylam Amvuttra already has an ATTR-CM treatment on the market.
Shares of Alnylam Amvuttra were up 16% in market trading.
“Although the trial did not reach its primary objective, we believe the results support a greater scientific understanding of treatment options for the thousands of patients worldwide who suffer from this progressive and often fatal condition,” said AstraZeneca Vice President of BioPharmaceuticals R&D Sharon Barr.
The full data will be presented at the European Society of Cardiology in August.
