AstraZeneca lifts lung‑cancer pipeline with Zegfrovy deal, Tagrisso data

(Sharecast News) - Drugmaker Astrazeneca delivered a pair of lungcancer updates on Tuesday, with the group completing a global licensing deal for Zegfrovy (sunvozertinib) while also reporting positive Phase III data for a Tagrisso-Orpathys combination in firstline METoverexpressing EGFRmutated disease.

Astrazeneca said it has now finalised its exclusive agreement with Dizal Pharmaceutical for worldwide rights to develop and commercialise Zegfrovy, an oral EGFR inhibitor already approved in the US and China for secondline NSCLC with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations.

The FTSE 100-listed group will launch the drug in the US in the fourth quarter and noted that a supplemental NDA for firstline use has been accepted by the FDA, backed by strong Phase III results published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The FDA and China's CDE have granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the firstline indication.

Astrazeneca will pay Dizal $600m upfront and up to $900m in milestones, with tiered royalties on global sales. The transaction was not expected to affect 2026 guidance.

Separately, Astrazeneca reported highlevel results from the SANOVO Phase III trial, showing that Tagrisso plus Orpathys delivered a statistically significant and "highly clinically meaningful" improvement in progressionfree survival versus Tagrisso alone in treatmentnaïve EGFRmutated NSCLC with MET overexpression.

Astrazeneca stated the benefit was seen across both highMET and intentiontotreat populations, with encouraging early signals in overall survival, and added that the findings reinforced the drug's role as the backbone therapy across EGFRmutated lung cancer, with followup ongoing.

As of 0830 BST, Astrazeneca shares were down 1.45% at 11,796p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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