AstraZeneca shares fall as drug effects revealed
ASTRAZENECA shares fell 1.1 per cent yesterday after its experimental diabetes pill dapagliflozin was associated with breast and bladder cancer, as well as more cases of infections, in a late-stage clinical trial.
“The recent findings on cancer incidence create an additional element of regulatory risk for dapagliflozin,” said Jefferies analyst Jeffrey Holford.
He was already cautious on the commercial potential of the drug, given the drug’s links with urogenital infections as well as its potential to impact kidney function.
AstraZeneca is developing dapagliflozin with Bristol-Myers Squibb. A US Food and Drug Administration advisory committee is due to review the product on 19 July.
Shares in AstraZeneca closed at 3026p, down 33p from Friday’s close.