LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - An experimental lung cancerpill from AstraZeneca delays disease progression by morethan a year, according to new data presented at a medicalmeeting on Friday.
AZD9291, which the company expects to file for U.S. approvalin the second quarter of 2015, is one of a number of cancermedicines AstraZeneca is hoping will rebuild its sales followingpatent losses on older drugs.
An analysis presented at the European Lung Cancer Conferencein Geneva demonstrated a median progression-free survival forpatients on the drug of 13.5 months.
AZD9291, like a rival product in development at ClovisOncology, targets a genetic mutation that helps tumoursevade current lung cancer pills, including AstraZeneca's ownestablished product Iressa.
During its defence against a $118 billion takeover attemptby Pfizer last year, AstraZeneca said it believedAZD9291 could sell as much as $3 billion a year. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
