AstraZeneca’s Cancer Care Contributions to be Highlighted with Trial Data at ESMO Congress

Nearly 100 abstracts at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2025, to be held Oct. 17–21 in Berlin, will feature AstraZeneca medications—both approved and potential—or pipeline molecules, but, prior to the conference, the company is spotlighting four major pivotal trials in particular, new data from which are intended to demonstrate AstraZeneca’s advancements in the field of cancer care (1).

What have the trials found? Which cancers are being addressed?

Two arms of a Phase III trial of trastuzumab deruxtecan, marketed as Enhertu, either followed by paclitaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab in the neoadjuvant setting or as post-neoadjuvant therapy (DESTINY-Breast11 and DESTINY-Breast05, respectively), headline the findings that will be presented (1). These studies involved patients with high-risk, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive early-stage breast cancer.

A Phase III trial of datopotamab deruxtecan (brand name Datroway) was performed as a first-line treatment in patients with locally recurrent inoperable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer for whom immunotherapy was not an option (1). Another Phase III trial, of durvalumab (Imfinzi), combined that drug with standard-of-care bacillus Calmette-Guérin induction and maintenance therapy in patients with high-risk, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

The specific findings from these trial data were not disclosed by AstraZeneca in the press release. Final overall survival results from a Phase III trial of perioperative durvalumab plus fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel chemotherapy in patients with resectable, early-stage and locally advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers will also be shared at the ESMO conference (1).

Among the abovementioned medications, AstraZeneca is collaborating with Daiichi Sankyo to develop and commercialize its trastuzumab deruxtecan and datopotamab deruxtecan offerings, and also has partnerships in progress with Merck & Co. (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada) and HUTCHMED (1).

What other AstraZeneca news has happened lately?

On Oct. 10, 2025, AstraZeneca became the second major pharmaceutical company, after Pfizer, to reach an agreement with the White House to offer prescription drugs to patients in the United States at the lowest price among developed countries, a strategy known as most-favored-nation pricing (2). Fifteen other companies also received letters from US President Donald Trump on July 31, 2025, outlining the steps recommended to achieve this goal; no other deals have yet been announced.

One day prior, on Oct. 9, 2025, AstraZeneca said it plans to invest a total $4.5 billion in a new US manufacturing facility, near Charlottesville, Va., with the announced monetary amount representing a proposed increase of $500 million to be dedicated to enhanced manufacturing capability supporting a broader range of medicines, including cancer treatments (3). The tranche of money is part of a $50 billion overall investment in US manufacturing and R&D announced by AstraZeneca in July 2025.

Pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca included, have been re-examining their manufacturing operations in 2025 due to the changing tariff policies of the Trump administration, which as of October 2025 is imposing a 100% tariff on all imported branded or patented pharmaceutical products (4).

References

1. AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca Furthers Ambition to Redefine Cancer Care with First Data from Four Major Pivotal Trials at ESMO. Press Release. Oct. 13, 2025.
2. Lavery, P. AstraZeneca is Next to Reach MFN Deal with White House. PharmTech.com, last updated Oct. 13, 2025.
3. Lavery, P. AstraZeneca’s US Expansion Highlights AI, Automation, and Policy Pressure in Pharma Manufacturing. PharmTech.com, Oct. 10, 2025.
4. Cole, C. How 100% Pharmaceutical Tariffs Will Impact Domestic Manufacturing and Supply Chains. PharmTech.com, Sept. 26, 2025.