Liver cancer approval brings some redemption for forgotten AstraZeneca asset

It was more than five years ago that AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) announced disappointing Phase III progression-free survival results from its MYSTIC lung cancer trial of Imfinzi (durvalumab) monotherapy or in combination with tremelimumab.

The study was billed as crucial for AstraZeneca’s prospects at the time, and the results sent shares tumbling by 16%, despite management’s protestations that it really was not as big a deal as investors seemed to think.

"With this first regulatory approval for Imjudo, patients now have an approved dual immunotherapy treatment regimen that harnesses the potential of CTLA-4 inhibition in a unique combination with a PD-L1 inhibitor"In this instance, management turned out to be right. AstraZeneca has had a strong few years since, with approvals and healthy sales from Tagrisso (osimertinib), Lynparza (olaparib), the COVID-19 vaccine Vaxzevria and Imfinzi in other settings, as well as other progress, making MYSTIC feel like a long-forgotten relic.