AstraZeneca halts late-stage lung cancer trial of volrustomig after interim analysis shows unlikely success

Aug 17, 2026

AstraZeneca is terminating its Phase 3 trial of the experimental bispecific antibody volrustomig in non-small cell lung cancer after an interim analysis concluded it was unlikely to outperform Merck's Keytruda. While the setback impacts a drug once projected to reach $5 billion in peak sales, AstraZeneca's shares rose 1% following positive Phase 3 readouts for Tagrisso-Orpathys and Enhertu. The company maintains its $80 billion revenue target for 2030.

Volrustomig lung cancer trial discontinuation

▪AstraZeneca announced on August 17, 2026, that it is terminating a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating its experimental bispecific antibody drug volrustomig combined with chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer.
▪An independent data monitoring committee recommended halting the volrustomig trial after determining the therapy was unlikely to improve survival or prevent disease worsening compared to Merck & Co.'s Keytruda plus chemotherapy.
▪AstraZeneca stated that other Phase 3 clinical trials evaluating volrustomig in cervical cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and mesothelioma will continue as planned.
▪The discontinued Phase 3 lung cancer trial accounted for approximately 20% of the estimated peak sales for volrustomig, which AstraZeneca had previously projected would reach more than $5 billion.

Dual checkpoint inhibitor toxicity

▪AstraZeneca reported that the safety profile of volrustomig combined with chemotherapy in the discontinued trial was consistent with the known profiles of the individual medicines, with no new safety signals identified.
▪In the first human trial of volrustomig, one-third of the enrolled patients discontinued treatment due to side effects, highlighting the high toxicity risks historically associated with the CTLA-4 inhibitor drug class.

AstraZeneca pipeline setbacks

▪AstraZeneca's breast cancer drug candidate camizestrant was recently rejected by a United States regulatory panel due to concerns regarding its clinical trial design.
▪The discontinuation of the volrustomig trial follows other recent AstraZeneca pipeline setbacks, including the late-stage trial failure of the heart disease drug Wainua and the rare disease drug Ultomiris.

Tagrisso-Orpathys trial success

▪AstraZeneca reported a positive readout from a late-stage lung cancer trial evaluating its Tagrisso-Orpathys drug combination, which successfully met its key clinical goals.
▪The Tagrisso-Orpathys combination trial success, alongside another positive readout, helped lift AstraZeneca shares by nearly 1% in London trading on August 17, 2026, offsetting the volrustomig news.

Enhertu trial success

▪AstraZeneca and partner Daiichi Sankyo reported positive results from a late-stage lung cancer trial of the drug Enhertu, which successfully met its primary objectives.
▪Union Investment portfolio manager Markus Manns stated that the mixed trial readouts on August 17, 2026, were incremental, noting that upcoming data from the Avanzar and Serena-4 trials are far more important.

AstraZeneca 2030 revenue targets

▪AstraZeneca is counting on launching up to 20 new drugs to help achieve its $80 billion annual revenue target by 2030, standing by its forecasts despite recent pipeline setbacks.
▪An AstraZeneca spokesperson stated that the discontinuation of the volrustomig lung cancer trial does not impact the company's long-term ambition to achieve $80 billion in annual sales by 2030.