AstraZeneca (AZN), Moderna's Heart Failure Study Successful

AstraZeneca AZN announced that a phase II study — EPICCURE — evaluating its mRNA-based pipeline candidate, AZD8601, in patients with heart failure met its primary endpoint of safety and tolerability. The candidate is being co-developed with Moderna MRNA and was designed using the company’s mRNA platform.

AstraZeneca’s AZD8601 is designed to deliver genetic instructions to spur the production of the paracrine factor vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A). The candidate was injected directly into the myocardium of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery.

The EPICCURE study evaluated 11 patients — seven patients receiving AZD8601 and the rest were injected with a placebo. Data from the study showed that administration of the candidate increased left ventricular ejection fraction (“LVEF”) and functional patient-reported outcomes compared to placebo. Moreover, all seven patients receiving AZD8601 had NT-proBNP levels below the heart failure limit after six months of follow-up compared to one patient in the placebo arm.

Please note that LVEF is a measure of the amount of blood pumped by the left ventricle of the heart, responsible for sending oxygen-rich blood in the body, in each contraction. The NT-proBNP is a measure of the level of a hormone that is found elevated in patients with heart failure.

Data from this mid-stage study supports the advancement of AZD8601 to the next stage of development in larger studies for safety and efficacy.

So far this year, shares of AstraZeneca have gained 19.5% compared with the industry’s 16.2% increase.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

AstraZeneca and Moderna first entered into an alliance to develop an mRNA-therapeutic in 2013. Subsequently, the companies expanded their alliances to include new target indications. The alliances were signed to develop mRNA-based treatment of cardiovascular and cardiometabolic diseases, as well as selected targets for cancer.

Apart from AZD8601, AstraZeneca is developing an mRNA-based immuno-oncology therapeutic, MEDI1191, in collaboration with Moderna in a phase I study. However, Moderna and AstraZeneca mutually terminated an agreement related to the development of an mRNA-therapeutic encoded for relaxin protein, known to have cardiovascular protective effects, in December 2020.

AstraZeneca PLC Price

AstraZeneca PLC price | AstraZeneca PLC Quote

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

AstraZeneca currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks from the biotech sector are Roche RHHBY and GlaxoSmithKline GSK, both carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Earnings per share estimates for Roche have moved up from $2.76 to $2.78 for 2021 and from $2.79 to $2.82 for 2022 in the past 30 days.

Shares of Roche have gained 13.4% so far this year.

The bottom-line estimates for Glaxo have improved from earnings of $2.82 to $3.04 for 2021 and from $3.08 to $3.26 for 2022 in the past 30 days. Glaxo delivered an earnings surprise of 15.28%, on average, in the last four quarters.

Glaxo’s stock has gained 17.3% year to date.

Zacks' Top Picks to Cash in on Artificial Intelligence

In 2021, this world-changing technology is projected to generate $327.5 billion in revenue. Now Shark Tank star and billionaire investor Mark Cuban says AI will create "the world's first trillionaires." Zacks' urgent special report reveals 3 AI picks investors need to know about today.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.