29th Apr 2025 09:29
(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC on Monday said growth has continued into 2025, with the chief executive officer saying the pharmaceutical maker has "entered an unprecedented catalyst-rich period for our company".
However, Astra also revealed a mixed set of drug outcomes, including a discontinued trial.
AstraZeneca shares were down 4.7% at 10,048.00 pence early Tuesday in London. The wider FTSE 100 index was 0.1% lower.
CEO Pascal Soriot noted that Astra has already in 2025 announced five positive study results, including for key drugs Enhertu, camizestrant, and Imfinzi. "Overall, we are making excellent progress toward our ambition of USD80 billion in total revenue by 2030," he said. Astra booked USD54.07 billion in revenue in 2024.
Without referring directly to US trade tariffs, Soriot said Cambridge, England-based Astra is "firmly committed to investing and growing in the US", with 11 production sites in the country, plus two research and development centres.
AstraZeneca recorded USD13.59 billion in total revenue in the first quarter of 2025, up 7.2% from USD12.68 billion a year before, and up 10% at constant exchange rates. This lifted pretax profit by 21% to USD3.40 billion from USD2.80 billion. Earnings per share was USD1.88, up 34% from USD1.41. Core EPS was USD2.49, up 21%.
Looking ahead, AstraZeneca confirmed its guidance for total revenue and core EPS in 2025. These should grow by a high single-digit and low double-digit percentage, respectively.
Separately, AstraZeneca reported mixed product news.
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, the advisory panel of the European Medicines Agency, has recommended approval in the EU of a Calquence combination for the treatment of adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Calquence, whose generic name is acalabrutinib, was successfully tested in combination with venetoclax, with or without obinutuzumab.
Less positively, Astra said it has halted the phase III trial of Truqap in combination with docetaxel and androgen-deprivation therapy in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The company said this followed a recommendation by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee, which concluded that combination with Truqap, whose generic name is capivasertib, was unlike to meet the test's primary endpoints.
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
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