AstraZeneca Q1: Tagrisso Beats Expectations And Drives Oncology Performance

 
• By Lucie Ellis-Taitt
  
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Tagrisso shines for AstraZeneca in the first quarter and the company is on track for approval of a fifth new cancer drug, in line with 2014 promises made by CEO Pascal Soriot when the company rejected takeover offers from Pfizer.

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Oncology portfolio shines for AstraZeneca in Q1 despite financial performance pressures • Source: Shutterstock

During the company's first-quarter earnings call, AstraZeneca PLC highlighted that a fifth new cancer drug since 2014 is on target for approval this year, and recently launched Tagrisso has become the best-selling product in its oncology portfolio. Later in the day, the UK firm also announced that Lokelma (sodium zirconium cyclosilicate, or ZS-9) had been approved by the US FDA to treat adults with hyperkalemia, a condition characterized by elevated potassium that particularly affects patients with chronic kidney disease and those on certain heart failure medicines.

AstraZeneca’s CEO Pascal Soriot made grand promises back in 2014 while fending off takeover bids for the company from US...

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