AstraZeneca's TAGRISSO Shows Promising Survival Benefits in Lung Cancer Study

AstraZeneca's TAGRISSO has shown clinically meaningful survival improvement in non-small cell lung cancer treatment. The company's stock rose 2% in the last quarter, in line with broader market trends. Positive developments, including Baxdrostat approval for hypertension and Imfinzi approval for bladder cancer, and robust financial results with increased sales and higher dividend, likely contributed to the movement. The company has 3 weaknesses investors should be aware of. AstraZeneca's total return over the past five years was 33.63%, showcasing notable outperformance compared to the recent 1-year period. The introduction of new products and expansion into emerging markets supports sustained growth, but challenges like regulatory changes and biosimilar competition may affect pricing power and market dynamics. AstraZeneca's current share price of £102.94 trades at a significant discount to the consensus analyst price target of £137.45.

AstraZeneca's TAGRISSO (osimertinib) has shown statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in overall survival (OS) for patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated (EGFRm) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the FLAURA2 Phase III trial. The combination of TAGRISSO with chemotherapy (pemetrexed and platinum-based) demonstrated a longer median OS compared to TAGRISSO monotherapy. This result reinforces TAGRISSO as a backbone therapy in the first-line treatment of advanced EGFRm lung cancer.

The FLAURA2 trial, a randomized, open-label, multi-center study, enrolled 557 patients across 20 countries. The trial's primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), with OS serving as the key secondary endpoint. The positive results from the final OS analysis build upon the previously reported interim OS results and the longest median PFS in this setting.

Pasi A. Jänne, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President for Translational Medicine and thoracic medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, highlighted the trial's significance, stating, "These positive results support osimertinib, either as monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy, as standard of care for patients with first-line advanced EGFR-mutated lung cancer." Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President, Oncology Haematology R&D, AstraZeneca, emphasized the combination's potential to extend survival and improve patient quality of life.

The safety profile of TAGRISSO plus chemotherapy remains manageable and consistent with the established profiles of the individual medicines. Adverse event (AE) rates were higher in the TAGRISSO plus chemotherapy arm, driven by chemotherapy-related AEs, but discontinuation rates due to AEs and on-target toxicities were low in both arms.

TAGRISSO plus chemotherapy is already approved in more than 80 countries, including the US, EU, China, and Japan, based on the FLAURA2 Phase III trial. This approval further supports AstraZeneca's commitment to treating patients with advanced lung cancer.

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[1] https://www.tradingview.com/news/reuters.com,2025-07-21:newsml_Wkr5n1mZ4:0-tagrisso-plus-chemotherapy-demonstrated-statistically-significant-and-clinically-meaningful-improvement-in-overall-survival-in-egfr-mutated-advanced-lung-cancer/