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* Calquence fails to meet main goal in mid-stage COVID-19
trials
* Approved indications or pending approvals for Calquence
not hit
* Drugmaker remains committed to COVID-19 vaccine trials
(Adds details on the trial, drug, background)
By Aakash B
Nov 12 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's blood cancer
treatment, Calquence, failed to improve survival rates and
prevent lung failure in patients hospitalised with symptoms of
COVID-19, the drugmaker said on Thursday, citing results from
mid-stage trials.
The company called the outcome "disappointing". It said its
other efforts to combat the pandemic - a possible vaccine
developed with Oxford University, and an experimental
antibody-based COVID-19 treatment - were not affected.
AstraZeneca is among leading contenders in the race for a
working vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Competitor Pfizer Inc
this week published efficacy data that were seen as a
major milestone on the way to a global immunisation campaign
next year.
Calquence, chemically called acalabrutinib, belongs to a
class of drugs called Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors
which can suppress autoimmune diseases - conditions where the
body's immune system mistakenly attacks the body itself.
COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms including pneumonia
are believed to suffer from an overreaction of the immune system
known as cytokine storm.
AstraZeneca had aimed to test whether Calquence, which
suppresses certain elements of the immune system, can contain
this immune response.
Results from the trials will not impact approved indications
or pending approvals for Calquence in patients with blood
cancers, the British company said.
The drug, which is already used to treat certain types of
cancers of the blood, is an approved treatment of adult patients
with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in the United States and
several other countries.
(Reporting by Aakash Jagadeesh Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by
Anil D'Silva, Ludwig Burger and Jan Harvey)
