Two cancer therapies from AstraZeneca (GB:AZN) have been approved for treating patients with breast cancer in the European Union.
The move boosts the company’s oncology portfolio, with one expert suggesting this year that Enhertu, one of the approved drugs, could ‘revolutionise’ treatment for some breast cancers.
AstraZeneca currently has a Moderate Buy rating on TipRanks, based on ratings from 13 analysts in the past three months, with nine ranking the stock as a Buy, three ranking it as Hold and one suggesting Sell.
The average AstraZeneca price target for the stock ranges from a high of 15,300p to a low of 1,010pp, implying a 2.55% downside potential from its current level.
‘Risk is unacceptably high’
Lynparza, a drug developed alongside Merck (MRK), has been recommended for use in the European Union either on its own or in combination with endocrine therapy, for patients who have certain kinds of high-risk early breast cancer.
The approval followed successful phase III human trials which saw the drug reduce invasive breast cancer recurrences, new cancers, or death by 42% compared to a placebo.
Breast cancer is the cancer most commonly diagnosed worldwide – with an estimated 2.3 million patients diagnosed in 2020.
Approximately 90% of all breast cancer patients are diagnosed with early breast cancer, AstraZeneca says.
Professor Andrew Tutt, Professor of Oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research, London and King’s College London, said: “For patients with high-risk, early-stage breast cancer, the risk of recurrence remains unacceptably high and cancer will return for more than one in four of these patients.
“Today’s recommendation is hopeful news for patients in Europe, as we move closer to setting a potential new standard of care that improves overall survival in patients suitable for treatment with olaparib.”
In March 2022, Lynparza (olaparib) was approved in the U.S.
AstraZeneca’s other drug, Enhertu, is an antibody drug conjugate (ADC), where antibodies bind to tumour cells before releasing chemicals to kill the cancer.
The drug is now being evaluated for use in the early stages of breast cancer.
Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca said earlier this month, “Today’s results represent a pivotal moment demonstrating the potential for Enhertu to redefine the treatment of HER2-targetable cancers.
‘Revolutionising the paradigm’
“DESTINY-Breast04 validates targeting the lower end of the spectrum of HER2 expression, since Enhertu reduced the risk of disease progression or death across all types of patients in the trial by half, and reduced the risk of death by over a third.
“We must now evolve the way we classify and treat metastatic breast cancer to ensure these patients are effectively diagnosed and treated.”
Tara Hansen, a consultant at Informa Pharma Custom Intelligence, said in an interview with Reuters, “As far as breast cancer goes, I’d say at least in the next few years, I’m pretty sure Enhertu is going to kind of finish revolutionising the treatment paradigm.”
AstraZeneca currently has a SmartScore of eight on TipRanks and is predicted to outperform the market.
