AstraZeneca reports new data from rheumatoid arthritis drug trial

AstraZeneca has announced top-line results from a new phase III study of a potentially groundbreaking rheumatoid arthritis therapy.

Data from the Oskira-1 trial of fostamatinib – the first oral spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor in development for rheumatoid arthritis – showed that the drug was able to deliver significant improvements in the signs and symptoms of the disease.

It means that one of the two primary endpoints of the trial was met, although the second primary goal – improvement in terms of bone erosion and joint space narrowing as assessed using X-rays – was not accomplished.

The company is now awaiting results from two further phase III trials, Oskira-2 and Oskira-3, before it can fully evaluate the performance of the drug.

Dr Briggs Morrison, executive vice-president of global medicines development and chief medical officer at AstraZeneca, said: "These top-line results provide important information on the efficacy and safety of fostamatinib and demonstrate that the compound has an effect on the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis."

Earlier this week, the firm announced that its MedImmune division is to acquire AlphaCore Pharma, the developer of a promising new cholesterol therapy.