In top news on UK stocks, AstraZeneca PLC (GB:AZN) shares are rising today after the company released promising updates on two of its breast cancer drugs, Truqap and Enhertu. AZN shares gained 1.3% as of writing, building on the momentum from last week’s release of the company’s solid Q1 results. Over the past five days, AstraZeneca shares have surged by nearly 8%.
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AstraZeneca is a leading global pharmaceutical company, serving billions of people worldwide. The company operates in three main categories: Oncology, Rare Diseases, and BioPharmaceuticals.
More from AstraZeneca’s Updates
In the first update, AstraZeneca disclosed that Truqap, in combination with Faslodex, has been recommended for approval by CHMP (Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use) in the EU. This treatment is for adult patients with a specific type of advanced or metastatic breast cancer. These patients had experienced disease recurrence or progression after endocrine-based therapy.
AZN’s recommendation is based on the CAPItello-291 study results, which confirmed that the Truqap combination reduced the risk of disease worsening or death by 50% compared to the standard Faslodex treatment. If approved, patients in Europe with this particular type of disease may have access to an innovative treatment option for the first time.
In the second update, AstraZeneca reported positive results from the DESTINY-Breast06 phase three trial for Enhertu in patients with metastatic breast cancer who have hormone receptor-positive, HER2-low status and have undergone one or more lines of endocrine therapies.
The trial showed a huge improvement in progression-free survival compared to standard chemotherapy, both statistically and clinically. The company is highly optimistic about DESTINY-Breast06 and believes that these findings highlight the potential of Enhertu as a treatment option for HR-positive breast cancer, contributing to the evolution of metastatic breast cancer treatment.
Enhertu is a HER2-directed DXd antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), identified by Daiichi Sankyo Company (DE:D4S) and is currently co-developed and marketed by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo.
Is AstraZeneca Stock a Good Buy?
As per the consensus rating on TipRanks, AZN stock received a Moderate Buy rating, supported by 19 recommendations, including 14 Buys. The AstraZeneca share price forecast stands at 11,933.44p, which is around 2% below the current trading level.
