AstraZeneca posts PASSAGE Phase 4 tezepelumab results; registers new prostate, lung, and NF2 trials

The week's most notable development is the posting of results from a completed Phase 4 study of tezepelumab, alongside four newly registered trials and one ongoing collaboration in hypertension care.

• Tezepelumab, a drug also known as AMG 157 or MEDI9929, was studied in a completed Phase 4 trial called "PASSAGE" evaluating effectiveness in a real-world population of adults and adolescents with asthma requiring medium-dose to high-dose inhaled corticosteroids with additional controllers, who had at least 2 exacerbations in the prior year¹. The study enrolled 286 participants and participants received 210 mg of tezepelumab every 4 weeks from Week 0 until Week 48¹; results were first posted 2026-07-16.
• Saruparib (AZD5305), a PARP inhibitor, is the subject of a new Phase III trial, "EvoPAR-Prostate05," in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. The study, not yet recruiting, will test saruparib combined with physician's choice of androgen receptor pathway inhibitor compared with placebo plus ARPI in men who previously received docetaxel chemotherapy or PSMA-directed lutetium-177 therapy without disease progression, with PSA at least 0.2 ng/mL², enrolling an estimated 1330 participants with radiographic progression-free survival as the primary outcome.
• ABSK043, sponsored by Abbisko Therapeutics with AstraZeneca as collaborator, is entering a Phase 2 study combined with osimertinib in EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. The not-yet-recruiting trial has an escalation part that will evaluate the safety and tolerability of ABSK043 in combination with osimertinib in previously treated participants with EGFR-mutated and PD-L1 positive locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC³, with an estimated enrollment of 72 participants.
• Selumetinib (Koselugo) is being tested in a new single-center Phase II study for NF2-related schwannomatosis, sponsored by Beijing Tiantan Hospital with AstraZeneca as collaborator. The not-yet-recruiting trial will enroll 20 patients diagnosed with NF2-related schwannomatosis who have at least one measurable and progressive vestibular schwannoma and are aged 3 years or older⁴.
• SHIELD, a new AstraZeneca-sponsored observational study with the FDA as collaborator, will track ESR1 mutations in HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer. The not-yet-recruiting study plans to enroll approximately 3,000 patients at about 30 sites in 15 countries across Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa⁵.
• A hypertension care implementation study sponsored by NYU Langone Health, with AstraZeneca as collaborator, is not yet recruiting. It will test a multilevel implementation strategy to improve management of hard-to-control hypertension among low-income adults receiving care at the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone Health⁶, with an estimated enrollment of 628 participants.