AstraZeneca (AZ) said Friday it would it would voluntarily cease promotion of its new lung cancer drug Iressa after clinical trial results showed it failed to significantly prolong the life of patients.
AZ said although trial data showed there was a statistically significant improvement in tumor shrinkage with Iressa patients that did not translate into a statistically significant survival benefit.
The company was consulting with regulatory authorities to determine the impact of the results.
The news about Iressa is the latest in a series of setbacks for U.K. drug maker. In October, the FDA indicated that AZ’s drug Crestor was under review. And in September, AZ failed to gain regulatory approval for its blood thinning indication Exanta.