AstraZeneca drops as Wainua heart trial misses primary endpoint
A late-stage study of Wainua failed to reduce deaths and repeat heart-related emergencies versus placebo over 140 weeks, AstraZeneca said.
By Sarah Jenkins · Chief Macro Economics Correspondent
· 2 min read
AstraZeneca shares fell as much as 9% on Thursday after the company said a late-stage study of its experimental heart medicine Wainua missed its primary objective. The stock was last down 8.9% in London, leaving it on course for its weakest session since March 2020, at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, according to CNBC.
The British drugmaker said in a Thursday press release that Wainua did not show a reduction in deaths and recurrent heart-related emergencies compared with placebo over 140 weeks. The trial tested the drug in patients with transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy, known as ATTR-CM, which AstraZeneca described as a rare and life-threatening heart condition.
The readout matters for investors because late-stage trials are designed to provide evidence that can support a medicine’s case with doctors, payers and regulators. In this study, the central test was whether Wainua could improve a composite outcome: fewer deaths and fewer repeat heart-related emergency events than a placebo group over the measured period.
A placebo comparison is intended to separate a treatment’s effect from outcomes that may occur without the active medicine. The primary objective, often called the main endpoint, is the key measure that a trial sets out to meet before results are known. AstraZeneca said Wainua did not meet that bar in this trial.
ATTR-CM is a form of heart disease linked to transthyretin-mediated amyloid buildup. AstraZeneca’s update did not report a successful result on the study’s main measure, and the company’s shares moved lower as investors priced in the setback for the experimental programme.
The market reaction was concentrated in AstraZeneca’s London-listed shares. CNBC reported that the intraday decline put the stock on track for its largest one-day fall since March 2020, a period marked by broad market stress at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
AstraZeneca did not state in the reported update that Wainua met the study’s principal goal. The company’s statement identified the treatment, the disease area, the comparator and the 140-week measurement period, but the reported details did not include additional efficacy figures or commercial guidance tied to the result.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
