Saturday, May 31, 2014

At ASCO 2014: Quite A Bit Hangs In The Balance For AZ, As Well, On Monday. . .


This is a moment when science advances -- or it does not.

This is also a moment when poker-draws -- into the hundreds of billions of dollars. . . are revealed.

And, if AstraZeneca shows really robust immuno-oncology data on Monday, it likely can permanently put Ian C. Read in its rear-view mirror. That is the size of this burgeoning market opportunity -- and is the central "organic operational" reason Pfizer wanted AZ: for its cancer "breakthrough" candidates' potential. High drama -- indeed, all dressed in the lingua franca of. . . science. Here's a bit from Yahoo! News -- do go read it all:

. . . .After thwarting a $118 billion takeover approach from Pfizer Inc, Britain's AstraZeneca Plc will again take the spotlight this weekend when the biggest annual medical meeting for cancer doctors convenes in Chicago. . . .

Industry watchers see the new data due at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting as the next test of AstraZeneca's ability to remain independent. . . .

At an analyst meeting on Monday, AstraZeneca is expected to discuss results for a small number of patients enrolled in a trial of MEDI4736 in combination with tremelimumab, another experimental immune system-booster designed to work by blocking a different protein called CTLA-4. AstraZeneca spokeswoman Ayesha Bharmal referred to the meeting as a "status update," with fuller data only expected in September during the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Madrid. . . .


Do stay tuned. Beautiful here in the City of Big Shoulders today!

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