(Bloomberg) — AstraZeneca Plc’s blockbuster drug Tagrisso cut the risk of lung cancer death or relapse by four-fifths over three years, according to detailed results from a study that raises survival prospects for patients in the early stages of the deadly disease.Adding Tagrisso to the regimen of early-stage lung cancer patients who had undergone surgery reduced the risk of dying or disease recurrence by 79%, compared with a placebo, according to the research. Patients’ tumors also had a mutation in a cancer-linked gene, called EGFR. AstraZeneca will present the results at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual conference on Sunday, a month and a half after the trial was halted early because of its strong outcome.Tagrisso is Astra’s biggest product, with sales of $982 million in the first quarter of this year. Around 60,000 additional patients may be eligible for treatment if the drug is approved in early-stage, post-surgical lung cancer, according to Dave Fredrickson, vice president for global oncology. Patients would take the drug for two to three years.The most important implication of the trial is that it provides a “reason for more early screening to take place for lung cancer patients,” Fredrickson said in an interview. “The improved outcome that we’re seeking is cure.”AstraZeneca’s American depositary receipts jumped as much as 5.3% in extended trading in New York Thursday. London-based shares of the Cambridge, England-based company are up more than 40% in the past year.Early screening often doesn’t take place currently because there are few therapies available compared with those for late-stage lung cancer, he said.After two years of treatment, 89% of patients in the trial treated with Tagrisso remained alive and disease-free, compared with 53% on placebo, Astra said. The results were consistent, whether patients got chemotherapy along with surgery or not.The ASCO conference is a key event in the calendar of oncology researchers and physicians, with scientists showcasing their best work and unveiling results from high-profile trials. This year’s meeting will be online due to the pandemic, with access to all results from the gathering available starting on Friday.(Updates with share movement in fifth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre joins Seana Smith to break down the day’s price action in stocks as well as a long in Alibaba (BABA), a Yahoo Finance Premium Investment Idea.

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(Bloomberg) — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unveiled scores of new and upgraded defensive speedboats with a warning to the U.S. that it won’t shy away from challenging American naval power.“Today we announce that wherever the Americans are, we’re right there beside you, and in the near future you will sense us even more,” IRGC Navy Commander Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said on the sidelines of a ceremony in the Persian Gulf, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Thursday.While battling sanctions and a major coronavirus outbreak, Iran appears determined to keep striking a defiant tone as tensions with the U.S. simmer. A month ago, President Donald Trump ordered the navy to destroy any Iranian vessels harassing U.S. ships, after accusations that the IRGC’s craft dangerously approached American military vessels in what U.S. Central Command said were international waters.It’s not clear if all the vessels shown at the ceremony were new or how many had been refurbished. The IRGC received a number of Ashoura and Zulfaghar-class vessels — the same models unveiled Thursday — from the Defense Ministry in March 2016, state TV reported at the time.Iran Ratchets Up Warnings to U.S. Over Tensions in Persian GulfEarlier this month, Iran’s regular navy lost 19 sailors in a friendly fire incident involving its own ships during a military exercise in the Gulf of Oman. The Guard is also building a new vessel that will be named after General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq in January, according to Tangsiri.Hostilities between Iran and the U.S. have spiraled after Washington exited the multiparty 2015 nuclear deal that aimed to rejuvenate the Iranian economy and renewed sanctions on the country’s oil exports. It also designated the IRGC — the largest branch of Iran’s armed forces — a terrorist organization. Tensions almost spilled over into outright conflict after the U.S. killed Soleimani.The Trump administration says it wants Iran to agree to a tougher deal on the Islamic Republic’s atomic program, and to roll back its military reach in the Middle East, including through groups like Hezbollah. Iran says it won’t negotiate until the U.S. returns to the original accord.In its latest step, the U.S. on Wednesday ended sanctions waivers that allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies to work at Iranian civilian nuclear sites.“The Islamic Republic Iran will not back down nor will we bow before any enemy,” General Hossein Salami, commander of the IRGC, said in a speech broadcast on state TV. “Defense is our logic in war, but that defense does not mean passivity. Our operations and tactics are offensive and we’ve shown this in the field.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Nareit Senior Economist and Former Federal Reserve Economist Calvin Schnure joins Yahoo Finance’s Akiko Fujita to discuss the most recent jobless claims as another 2.123 million Americans file for unemployment benefits.

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(Bloomberg) — Cisco Systems Inc. is in advanced talks to buy software company ThousandEyes Inc. for nearly $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.Cisco could announce a deal for the San Francisco-based company as soon as Thursday, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. No final decision has been made and talks could fall through, the people said.A representative for Cisco declined to comment. A representative for ThousandEyes didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Under Chief Executive Officer Charles Robbins, Cisco has made acquisitions to boost its software and services capabilities. He’s trying to lessen its dependence on one-time sales of expensive hardware and shift toward the recurring revenue and higher profitability of long-term contracts.ThousandEyes could complement the business it’s developed around AppDynamics, which Cisco acquired in 2017. The company regularly touts the successful integration and growth of that former startup, which provides monitoring and analysis of software applications’ performance.ThousandEyes provides so-called digital experience monitoring software, which helps companies optimize the performance of their connected devices, according to its website. The company is backed by several venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures and Salesforce Ventures.It has raised $110 million in financing to date and its last known valuation was $670 million last year, according to PitchBook.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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The financial regulations require hedge funds and wealthy investors that exceeded the $100 million equity holdings threshold to file a report that shows their positions at the end of every quarter. Even though it isn't the intention, these filings to a certain extent level the playing field for ordinary investors. The latest round of 13F […]

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Yahoo Finance’s Brian Cheung joins Zack Guzman to discuss the latest changes to the Paycheck Protection Program.

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Rosneft does not have enough crude to ship to buyers with which it has long-term supply deals, making it hard for the Russian company to continue with record oil cuts beyond June, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Rosneft has told the energy ministry it would be difficult to maintain cuts to the end of the year, as it has had to cut shipments to major buyers, such as Glencore and Trafigura, despite good demand, two sources close to the talks said on condition of anonymity. Glencore and Trafigura declined to comment.

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