AstraZeneca drug succeeds in trial for swallowing disorder
Proactive
Thu, 27 August 2026 at 12:48 pm GMT+5:30
1 min read
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AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN, NASDAQ:AZN) said its drug Tezspire worked in a late-stage trial of patients with eosinophilic esophagitis, a chronic condition that inflames the gullet and makes swallowing difficult
The drug, developed with the American biotech company Amgen, hit both of its main goals and every important secondary one
The trial, called CROSSING, involved 368 patients aged between 12 and 80 who were still suffering symptoms despite existing treatment
They were given either a low dose of Tezspire, a high dose, or a placebo, injected under the skin every four weeks
Both doses reduced inflammation in the gullet and eased difficulty swallowing compared with the placebo at 24 weeks, and the benefit lasted through to 52 weeks
AstraZeneca said side effects were broadly in line with what has already been seen in approved uses of the drug
The company has not yet released the underlying numbers, which will be presented at a medical conference and given to regulators
The condition affects more than 470,000 people in the United States, and cases have risen fivefold since 2009
Almost half of patients do not get adequate relief from current first-line options, which include steroids, acid-suppressing drugs and restricted diets
Left untreated, it can cause food to become stuck in the gullet, sometimes requiring emergency treatment
Tezspire is already approved for severe asthma in more than 70 countries and for a form of chronic sinus disease in the United States, Europe, China and Japan
It works by blocking a protein released by the lining of the airways and gut that triggers inflammation
More than 100,000 patients have been treated with it since 2021
