AstraZeneca dumps $855M, near-approval rare disease drug after talks with regulators

AstraZeneca has dumped a rare disease drug candidate once considered worth $855 million after chalking up a pair of phase 2 flops, despite the prospect previously hitting the mark in a much larger phase 3 trial. The drugmaker disclosed the action alongside news of the jettisoning of a nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) therapy.