AstraZeneca's experimental drug selumetinib suffered a modest blow on Wednesday after the drug failed to meet its goals in a final trial for eye cancer. But the drug-maker said in a statement that failure of this drug will not affect other studies using the drug.

It has been said that selumetinib has been investigated primarily as a treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Selumetinib belongs to a class of cancer drugs known as MEK inhibitors.

As per experts, MEK inhibitors include Novartis's approved product Mekinist and the experimental compound cobimetinib from Roche and Exelixis.

Berenberg analyst Alistair Campbell said the failure of the Phase III trial, known as Selumetinib in Uveal Melanoma Investigator Trial (SUMIT), was surprising after it presented quite promising Phase II data.

"However, selumetinib is not one of the big three oncology drugs (AZD9291, Lynparza and MEDI4736) that will lead the turnaround of Astra's fortunes in oncology", Campbell said.

As per experts, uveal melanoma is an orphan disease in which cancer cells grow in tissues of the eye. The condition is rare but it is still the most common primary intraocular malignancy in adults and accounts for 5 % of all melanomas.

As per analysts, AstraZeneca will get a much bigger commercial opportunity if it uses the drug in lung cancer. Selumetinib is also being studied in thyroid cancer and neurofibromatosis, a condition in which tumors grow along the nerves.

In April 2015, Selumetinib was granted Orphan Drug Designation by the US Food and Drug Administration in recognition of the need for new, safe and effective therapies for the disease.

Shares of AstraZeneca fell 0.7 % in early trading.