AstraZeneca Advances Food-Effect Trial for New Cardio-Renal Combo Tablet

AstraZeneca plc (GB:AZN) announced an update on their ongoing clinical study.

AstraZeneca has started a new early-stage trial to see how its zibotentan/dapagliflozin combo tablet behaves in the blood when taken with or without food. The official title signals a randomized crossover design in healthy volunteers, aimed at clarifying how meals affect drug absorption, a key step before broader patient trials and future label claims.

The single tablet combines zibotentan, an experimental heart and kidney drug, with dapagliflozin, AstraZeneca’s established diabetes and heart-failure medicine. The goal is to confirm that a fixed-dose pill works reliably in real-world use, where patients may not always take medicines on an empty stomach.

The study is interventional and randomized, with volunteers switching between fasted and fed dosing periods. There is no blinding, and the primary focus is to assess how the drug is handled in the body, rather than to test clinical benefit, which keeps timelines short and data fairly clear.

The trial was first submitted on 5 Feb 2026, marking its formal entry into the development record. The most recent update on 2 Mar 2026 shows the protocol is active and still being refined while recruitment continues.

As a Phase 1 food-effect study, this update is unlikely to move AZN’s share price on its own but adds to the firm’s growing cardio-renal pipeline story. Positive progress could reinforce AstraZeneca’s position against rivals in SGLT2-based and kidney-cardiac care, supporting sentiment around the durability of its heart and kidney franchise.

The study remains ongoing and updated, with fuller technical details and future results to be reported on the ClinicalTrials portal.

To learn more about GB:AZN’s potential, visit the AstraZeneca plc drug pipeline page.