No hiding place for AstraZeneca as Mystic fears materialize

Investors have been speculating for months what the outcome of AstraZeneca’s (LSE: AZN) Mystic lung cancer trial might be, seeking to find clues in every word spoken by company executives and researchers.

Did the fact that, in recent weeks in particular, the Anglo-Swedish company has sought to stress that this summer’s data read-out is just of the progression-free survival (PFS) figures, not the overall survival (OS) assessment that the trial was designed to evaluate, indicate that the initial results would not be positive? Did uncertainty around chief executive Pascal Soriot suggest something? Were rumors of a takeover an indication?

Whether these developments provided a hint or not, a fact that investors and Mr Soriot accepted was that if this summer’s Mystic results were bad, then it would have a significant impact on the company’s share price.