Shares of AstraZeneca fell as much as 9% after a late-stage clinical trial for a heart disease failed to meet its target.
The medicine, Wainua, did not reach its main goal of reducing deaths and recurrent heart-related emergencies over 140 weeks compared to a placebo, the British drugmaker said in a press release early Thursday.
The treatment is for a rare, life-threatening heart condition called transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).
A Jefferies analyst said the result didn't jeopardise the company's $80 billion sales target by 2030 but noted that AstraZeneca "had been very confident around the primary endpoint and the ability to hit in combination use."
The study examined a specific type of the condition in which misfolded proteins build up in the heart muscle. It's estimated that about half a million people live with the condition.
The stock was last seen down 8.9% in London, on track for its worst day since March 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.
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