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AstraZeneca scraps arthritis drug

TIP UPDATE: Just when there was to be light at the end of the tunnel, AstraZeneca reminds everyone why it could be an oncoming train
June 5, 2013

AstraZeneca's (AZN) already threadbare development pipeline looked even more desolate after its trumpeted arthritis treatment, Fostamatinib, failed to show much benefit in its phase III development trials. The loss for Astra will be a one-off charge of $141m (£91m) to cover the cost of its development so far. On the bright side, it might have been worse – if the company had developed the compound itself from discovery to phase III, then the cost would have been nearer $1bn.

IC TIP: Sell at 3,342p

Fostamatinib wasn't seen as the cure-all for Astra's problems – peak sales of a modest $217m were forecast by 2017 – but it places more pressure on its recent acquisitions to perform. And there's the question of why development was not stopped in December as the first review showed the product had missed some of its endpoints.