The U.S. government has cleared AstraZeneca Plc over a major clinical trial used to win marketing approval for its important new heart drug Brilinta, following an investigation which had cast a shadow over its prospects.The drugmaker said on Tuesday the Department of Justice (DoJ) was closing the probe into the 18,000-patient study and no further action was planned.AstraZeneca views Brilinta as a potential $3.5 billion-a-year seller, but news last October that the DoJ was quizzing the company about the way it conducted the trial raised doubts over its medical value, causing sales to stall.The firm flagged up the promise of Brilinta in its defence against an abortive $118 billion takeover bid by Pfizer Inc earlier this year, although the drug registered only modest sales of $216 million in the first half of 2014.
AstraZeneca PLC (AstraZeneca) is a global biopharmaceutical company. Shares of AZN traded higher by 2.54% or $1.74/share to $70.28. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $48.53 and as high as $82.68. On average, 3665700 shares of AZN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2145147.
Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer) is a research-based, global biopharmaceutical company. Shares of PFE traded higher by 0.7% or $0.2/share to $28.84. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $27.76 and as high as $32.96. On average, 24052900 shares of PFE exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 22969592.
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