AstraZeneca’s shares fell 9 per cent after the company said its nerve disease drug Wainua failed to meet its target in a late-stage trial to treat a heart condition.
The UK’s biggest pharmaceutical group said the phase 3 trial found that Wainua, developed with US company Ionis, “did not provide a statistically significant benefit” in reducing cardiovascular-related deaths when it was added to the existing standard of care for patients.
The trial was designed to treat a condition known as transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy that stems from the build-up of proteins in the heart. The condition affects an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people globally, AstraZeneca said.
Analysts at Jefferies said the failure would not impact the group’s ability to reach its ambitious revenue target of $80 billion by 2030 but warned that it would cost the company’s management “a degree of credibility” since bosses had been confident the trial would succeed.
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The failed test means that peak sales for the drug will be about $4 billion, wiping out about $2.5 billion in potential sales. The failure in the latest trial does not affect the existing approvals for a drug that generated $220 million for AstraZeneca last year.
Wainua has been approved in more than 20 countries to treat adults with another disease – polyneuropathy associated with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis, a rare progressive condition. The hereditary disease causes proteins to build up around vital organs.
Sharon Barr, executive vice-president for biopharmaceuticals research and development at AstraZeneca, said: “Although the trial did not meet its primary objective, we believe the results support greater scientific understanding of treatment approaches for the hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide suffering from this progressive and often fatal condition.”
The outcome of the trial is the second recent setback for AstraZeneca after US regulators in May delayed approval of a new cancer treatment. The company’s share price has fallen more than 5 per cent this year.
The UK-listed drugmaker reported 16 positive late-stage trial results last year, including for breast cancer drug Datroway and baxdrostat for blood pressure.
Separately, AstraZeneca told the FT on Thursday it was in discussions with NHS England and Nice, England’s medicines watchdog, to “identify a solution” on pricing for Enhertu.
The breast cancer medicine has been approved in the UK but is currently unavailable to patients of the public health service outside Scotland because of disagreements on pricing. The drug is available in Ireland since July 2025.
“We remain fully committed to working in partnership with the system to find a way forwards for patients,” AstraZeneca said. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
