AstraZeneca Scores Win with Successful Tezspire Trial
AstraZeneca has scored a win in its pipeline with the success of Tezspire, an asthma drug it developed with Amgen, in a late-stage trial for patients with eosinophilic esophagitis. The condition affects over 470,000 people in the United States and is characterized by chronic inflammation in the oesophagus.
The study showed that Tezspire significantly reduced inflammation in the oesophagus and eased difficulty in swallowing versus a placebo at 52 weeks in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis. This gives AstraZeneca an advantage over existing therapies, which may not be as effective in treating epithelial-driven inflammatory diseases.
CEO Pascal Soriot is steering the company towards its target of $80 billion in annual sales by 2030, counting on up to 20 new drug launches as it grapples with patent expiries and trial disappointments. Tezspire generated $1.13 billion in sales for AstraZeneca and $1.48 billion for Amgen in 2025.