STAT+: AstraZeneca’s experimental COPD treatment posts strong results in late-stage studies

STAT PlusPharma AstraZeneca’s experimental COPD treatment posts strong results in late-stage studies Approval could deliver patients a new options and produce a windfall for the pharma company Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Andrew JosephSept. 8, 2026 Europe Correspondent Andrew Joseph[email protected]Andrew covers the biopharma industry, scientific research, and public health across the continent. You can reach Andrew confidentially on Signal at drewqjoseph.71.

In a pair of late-stage trials, a drug from AstraZeneca reduced the dangerous flare-ups that drive the worsening of COPD, positioning it as a potential new option for the vast numbers of patients with the debilitating lung condition, according to data released Tuesday. Results from the Phase 3 trials of the drug, called tozorakimab, also amount to a re-assuring victory for AstraZeneca, which is known for its metronomic success in trials but has seen some notable misses in recent months, most dramatically with a heart disease drug. Analysts and the company have projected that “tozo,” as the injectable drug is dubbed, could reap billions in annual sales if approved, both in COPD — which, as the third-leading cause of death globally, remains greatly underserved — and in other conditions including asthma.

Advertisement In the trials, tozo reduced COPD exacerbations — any sudden worsening of the disease requiring medical care, whether a severe cough or breathlessness — by about 30% across all patients over a year, according to data presented at the European Respiratory Society’s annual conference in Barcelona and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. That finding makes tozo competitive with other COPD treatments that have reached patients in recent years, but notably, the tozo trials included participants not eligible for the other new drugs. The benefits seen in those patients could give AstraZeneca a large segment of the market to itself.

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Subscribe Log In chronic disease, drug development, Pharmaceuticals, STAT+ Submit a correction requestReprints Andrew Joseph Europe Correspondent Andrew covers the biopharma industry, scientific research, and public health across the continent. You can reach Andrew confidentially on Signal at drewqjoseph.71. Newsletter Understand how science, health policy, and medicine shape the world every day Recommended Morning Rounds September 8, 2026 An administrative gap delays access to new pancreatic cancer treatment Biotech September 8, 2026 STAT Plus: Inhibrx claims first win for long-sought immunotherapy target Advertisement Biotech September 8, 2026 STAT Plus: Roivant lung disease drug hits mid-stage study goals Health September 8, 2026 Reynolds is selling fruity new vapes unauthorized by FDA Health September 8, 2026 A breakthrough pancreatic cancer drug won approval.

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