AstraZeneca's ($AZN) high hopes for its heart drug Brilinta took a major hit Wednesday. According to new top-line data from the much-anticipated SOCRATES trial, the clot-fighting med failed to beat aspirin at treating stroke patients, missing its primary goal of delaying stroke, heart attack and cardiovascular death. As FierceBiotech notes, this means that a 40-cent tablet--first sold by Bayer in 1899--was just as good at helping patients as AZ's new drug that costs around $7 (before discounts) per daily treatment. Brilinta is one of AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot's new growth platforms, key to hitting an ambitious 2023 sales goal of $45 billion. More from FierceBiotech
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