AstraZeneca touts upbeat asthma data for key respiratory candidate

It's one step back, one step forward for AstraZeneca's ($AZN) key respiratory drug benralizumab. After acknowledging a midstage setback in COPD last month, AstraZeneca's big MedImmune division has come back with positive--though somewhat mixed--Phase IIb data underscoring the effectiveness of knocking down white blood cells in preventing asthma attacks. Report