By Alex MacDonald
LONDON--U.K.-listed pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca PLC on
Tuesday said its pipeline of drugs is expected to drive strong and
consistent revenue growth, delivering annual revenues in excess of
$45 billion by 2023.
AstraZeneca, which earlier this year rejected a takeover
approach from U.S.-based Pfizer Inc., said its business strategy is
evolving to become more sustainable and profitable.
"We have more than doubled the number of potential medicines in
our late-stage pipeline since 2012 and we are on track to return to
growth by 2017," Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said in a statement
ahead of an investor day presentation later Tuesday.
The U.K.-based drug maker said it had made faster-than-expected
progress with late-stage drug development, with 14 potential new
medicines in registration compared with an original target of
eight.
It is also preparing to submit 14 to 16 medicines for regulatory
review and 8 to 10 medicines for approvals in 2015-2016.
AstraZeneca reaffirmed that it expects 2017 revenues to be
broadly in line with the $25.7 billion generated in 2013, based on
constant exchange rates. Beyond 2017, it expects revenues to grow
steadily to more than $45 billion by 2023, with core earnings
growth outstripping revenue growth during the period.
Near-term growth will come from five growth platforms that
account for more than half of the company's revenue, comprising of
cardiovascular, diabetes, and respiratory drugs as well as drugs
for the emerging markets and Japan.
Over the medium term, AstraZeneca wants to add oncology as a
sixth growth platform. It plans to submit several cancer drugs for
regulatory review in 2015 and 2016, with the view of bringing six
new cancer medicines to patients by 2020. Oncology has the
potential to become a quarter of its sales by 2023, the company
said.
AstraZeneca said it would continue to invest in research and
development targeted on developing its three core therapeutic
areas: respiratory, inflammation and autoimmunity; cardiovascular
and metabolic disease; and oncology. These three areas currently
account 69% of the company's revenue. It will also seek
partnerships and bolt-on acquisitions to support its portfolio of
products and pipeline of new drugs.
Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@wsj.com
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