AstraZeneca shares fell sharply in European trading after the company disclosed that its late-stage clinical trial for Wainua, an experimental heart disease treatment, failed to meet its primary endpoint.
The medicine, developed in partnership with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, did not reach its main goal of reducing deaths and recurrent cardiovascular events in patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy.
The market reaction was immediate and severe, with AstraZeneca stock tumbling as much as 9% in the session.
The market reaction was immediate and severe, with AstraZeneca stock tumbling as much as 9% in the session.
The sell-off reflects investor disappointment over the loss of a potential high-revenue asset in the cardiovascular space, a sector where AstraZeneca has been seeking to diversify beyond its oncology franchise.
The failure also casts a shadow over the collaboration with Ionis, which had invested significant resources in the program.
Wainua was viewed as a key candidate in AstraZeneca’s pipeline to address unmet medical needs in heart failure.