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LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's cancer drugpipeline suffered a setback on Tuesday when the experimentaldrug selumetinib failed to meet its goal in a late-stage trialfor lung cancer.
Hopes for the medicine had already been reduced after itfailed in another study for treating a rare cancer of the eye inJuly 2015, although it may still have a role in a type ofthyroid cancer and in cancers growing along nerve tissue.
Selumetinib is viewed as less important than AstraZeneca'srecently launched cancer drugs Tagrisso and Lynparza, and itsclosely watched experimental product durvalumab.
Hopes for immunotherapy medicine durvalumab have beenfuelled in recent days by the failure of Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo in previously untreated lung cancer patients.Analysts believe this could open up the market opportunity forAstraZeneca.
Selumetinib belongs to a class of cancer drugs known as MEKinhibitors.
The British drugmaker said that when selumetinib was givenwith chemotherapy it did not slow lung cancer progression ashoped or have a significant effect on overall survival.
Sean Bohen, head of medicines development, described thePhase III trial result as "disappointing", since the drug hadshown promise in earlier Phase II results in non-small cell lungcancer.
AstraZeneca is relying on oncology treatments to revive itsfortunes following a wave of patent expiries. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler, editing by Louise Heavens)
