AstraZeneca's new arthritis drug fostamatinib struggled in a recent mid-sized clinical trial. The experimental new treatment is administered in pill form as opposed to injected but was found significantly less capable of controlling symptoms than the leading treatment, produced by Abbott.
News of the poor trial results has led to a dip in share prices for AstraZeneca and may swing momentum back in favor of their rival Pfizer, who is also racing to produce an oral arthritis drug. A successful oral treatment for the common ailment could be a blue-chip product in the marketplace, currently dominated by the injected Humira.
That drug currently takes in a whopping $9 billion a year and has led the industry for over a decade. Speaking with the U.K.'s Telegraph, Panmure Gordon analyst Savvas Neophytou said that an oral treatment must at very least produce similar results to the injection or it is "likely to limit the product's commercial potential."
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.