The unpromising results of the Recentin, a cancer drug, have brought huge discouragement to AstraZeneca. Its treatment failed a development which has come as a sharp contrast to that of its rival Roche's Avastin.

"While we recognized that challenging Avastin would be a high hurdle, it is still disappointing not to have met the primary endpoint in this study. The results of the second pivotal study in the coming months will provide further information on whether Recentin may provide benefit for patients with colorectal cancer and will inform any decision about possible regulatory filings", said Alan Barge, Head of Oncology at Astra.

Following the failure, Astra's shares dipped to by 1%.

The analysts made a prediction of the sales hitting the $329 million mark by 2013.

The company shared that it had conducted two trials on the effectiveness of the drug and the results of the second trial are awaited.

Barge said, "The results of this trial would offer further information on whether Recentin may provide benefit for patients with colorectal cancer and will inform any decision about possible regulatory filings".

The company explained that the data that was collected by it at the initial stage of the treatment had indicated a capability of stopping the build-up of fluid, which is caused by Glioblastoma.