AstraZeneca Beats Estimates Aided by Cancer Drugs

COVID-vaccine maker AstraZeneca beats the $10.73 billion consensus estimates with its $10.98 billion total revenue for Q3, aided by the sales of its cancer drugs.

AstraZeneca, whose most extensive disease area is oncology, accounted for close to 63% of total sales for its cancer drugs last year. The sales of the pharmaceutical company’s oncology portfolio also rose by 24%, with earnings from key cancer medicines Tagrisso and Imfinzi helping them beat the consensus estimates.

Sales generated by Tagrisso were near $1.4 billion and Imfinzi at $737 million, while analysts’ forecast was only at $1.35 billion and $725 million, respectively.

According to an analyst, “Whilst some of the other key players in the COVID-19 market started to show a decline in momentum, AstraZeneca’s diversified portfolio…has allowed them to stay on top and not be affected by the reduced global uptake of vaccines.”

AstraZeneca raised its core earnings outlook for the entire business year, expecting a metric increase by a high-20s to low-30s percentage compared to its prior outlook of mid-to-high 20s percentage.

AstraZeneca’s Adult Asthma Drug Backed by FDA Adcomm

The Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee of FDA favored AstraZeneca’s PT027 (albuterol/budesonide) on Wednesday, saying that the drug has promising risk-benefits for asthma patients 18 and above but not as much for younger ones.

PADAC decided in a 9 to 8 vote that the drug doesn’t have an overall positive risk-benefit for asthma patients in ages 12 to 17 years old. The vote was even worse for 4 to 11 years old children as the committee voted 16-1 against PT027.

Former President of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, Bradley E. Chipps, noted that the current asthma rescue medications do not address the “underlying inflammation” but only alleviate the exacerbation symptoms.

With PADAC’s vote, PT027 has become the only rescue medication to receive a recommendation for approval in the US.

“If approved, PT027 could transform the current rescue treatment approach,” Chipps added.