AstraZeneca share price rises amid drug trials results

AstraZeneca’s (LON:AZN) share price has advanced in London this morning as the company posted upbeat trial results for its cardiovascular treatments Brilinta and Farxiga. The results mark a boost for the blue-chip drugmaker which is counting on several key treatment areas to propel sales growth going forward.

As of 08:35 BST, AstraZeneca’s share price had added 1.71 percent to 7,443.00p, outperforming the broader UK market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 currently standing 0.58 percent higher at 7,248.76 points. The group’s shares have added more than 28 percent to their value over the past year, as compared with about a 2.6-percent fall in the Footsie.

Upbeat drug trial results

AstraZeneca announced in a statement this morning that its heart drug Brilinta had reduced the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease and type-2 diabetes in a late-stage trial. The treatment also showed a more favourable clinical benefit in a prespecified sub-analysis of patients who had undergone a procedure to open a coronary artery. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker noted that it would work with regulatory authorities to explore an update to the Brilinta label based on the trial results.

The company disclosed in a separate statement that detailed results from a late-stage trial had showed that Farxiga, another cardiovascular treatment, had significantly reduced both the incidence of cardiovascular death and the worsening of heart failure.

“Farxiga is well established in the treatment of type-2 diabetes, and these exciting new findings offer clinically meaningful insights into the potential of the medicine to reduce the burden of heart failure in patients with and without type-2 diabetes,” Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, commented in the statement.

Analysts on AstraZeneca

Deutsche Bank, which is bullish on the blue-chip pharmco with a ‘buy’ rating, lifted its target on the AstraZeneca share price from 7,200p to 7,600p today, while Goldman Sachs, whose analysts see the company as a ‘sell,’ set a valuation of 5,500p on the shares. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca currently has a consensus ‘hold’ rating and an average price target of 6,729.41p.