AstraZeneca said Wednesday a combination of its drugs Lynparza and Imfinzi met the goal of a study in ovarian cancer, leading AZN stock to surge.
In an interim analysis, the company found a combination of Lynparza, Imfinzi, chemotherapy and bevacizumab resulted in a longer period of time before patients worsened or died. The latter is the standard treatment for this form of ovarian cancer.
"While there has been significant progress for patients with advanced ovarian cancer, an unmet need still remains," said Susan Galbraith, AstraZeneca's executive vice president of oncology research and development, in a written statement.
On the stock market today, AZN stock jumped 2.6% to close at 72.05. Earlier, shares broke out of a flat base with a buy point at 72.22, according to MarketSmith.com. Shares of Merck, which partners with AstraZeneca on Lynparza, popped 2.8%, ending the regular session at 111.91.
AZN Stock Gaps Higher
The company tested the regimen in women with ovarian cancer without specific mutations. The addition of Lynparza appears to be key. A combination of Imfinzi, chemotherapy and bevacizumab showed a numerical improvement, but didn't end in statistically significant results.
AstraZeneca plans to unveil the full results at a future medical meeting.
"It will be important to understand the key secondary (goals) as well as data for relevant subgroups," Galbraith said.
AZN stock has been on a rise recently. Shares began creeping higher after bottoming out in early March. Now, AZN stock has an IBD Digital Relative Strength Rating of 79, which puts it in the top 21% of all stocks when it comes to 12-month performance.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
