AstraZeneca lung cancer drug delays disease by more than a year

LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - An experimental lung cancer pill from AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN - news) delays disease progression by more than a year, according to new data presented at a medical meeting on Friday.

AZD9291, which the company expects to file for U.S. approval in the second quarter of 2015, is one of a number of cancer medicines AstraZeneca is hoping will rebuild its sales following patent losses on older drugs.

An analysis presented at the European Lung Cancer Conference in Geneva demonstrated a median progression-free survival for patients on the drug of 13.5 months.

AZD9291, like a rival product in development at Clovis Oncology, targets a genetic mutation that helps tumours evade current lung cancer pills, including AstraZeneca's own established product Iressa.

During its defence against a $118 billion takeover attempt by Pfizer (NYSE: PFE - news) last year, AstraZeneca said it believed AZD9291 could sell as much as $3 billion a year. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler. Editing by Jane Merriman)