STAT+: In autopsy of failed heart disease study, AstraZeneca raises broader questions about silencer drugs
AstraZeneca detailed the surprise failure of a closely watched heart disease trial, a study with ripple effects for a competitive billion-dollar market.
On Friday, AstraZeneca disclosed the unexpected failure of a high-profile heart disease clinical trial, revealing that its experimental drug, a type of silencer, provided no additional benefits for patients who were already on a stabilizer, a different class of medication. The study found that patients with ATTR-CM, a progressive condition, who received AstraZeneca’s drug, a silencer, experienced no improvement if they were already taking a stabilizer, an effect so significant that it led to the entire Phase 3 study’s failure.
At the start of the trial, most participants were already taking a stabilizer. The trial’s outcome has far-reaching implications not just for AstraZeneca and its partnership with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, but for other companies that sell ATTR-CM drugs, including Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, which offers another silencer, and BridgeBio, the manufacturer of a new stabilizer.
Analysts have suggested that the study’s results support the view that stabilizers, oral medications, may be superior to injectable silencers.
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