Pharma
AstraZeneca reaches milestone of £200 billion market capitalization thanks to successful cancer research
AstraZeneca is the only British company to reach a market capitalization of £200 billion, supported by a strong pipeline of cancer drugs and the strategic leadership of CEO Pascal Soriot.
AstraZeneca is the only currently publicly traded British company to reach a market capitalization of 200 billion pounds. This is the result of a targeted strategy that has made the company one of the leading developers of cancer drugs.
On Tuesday, the shares of the British pharmaceutical company rose by 1.1 percent, pushing the market capitalization up to 200.3 billion pounds. Since the beginning of the year, the company's stock has increased by nearly 20 percent after CEO Pascal Soriot presented plans in May to boost annual revenue to 80 billion US dollars by 2030.
The rise to this remarkable valuation comes 12 years after Soriot took office, whose £18.7 million pay package makes him one of the best-paid CEOs in the FTSE 100 Index. Following a failed takeover attempt by US competitor Pfizer in 2014, now valued at $163 billion, Soriot has increasingly focused the company on research and development.
Under Soriot's leadership, AstraZeneca has developed a series of blockbuster treatments for cancer and diabetes, as well as a now-withdrawn Covid-19 vaccine. Investors also see great potential in the company's pipeline, particularly in the field of oncology.
Emily Field, an analyst at Barclays, emphasized: 'He [Soriot] has transformed the company from a traditional respiratory and primary care business into an oncology powerhouse.'
Among AstraZeneca's most promising medications is Enhertu, a targeted chemotherapy for breast cancer and other types of cancer, which was originally developed by the Japanese company Daiichi Sankyo. AstraZeneca entered into a collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo in 2019 and has since made significant progress in the field of oncology.
Despite the challenges, such as the loss of exclusivity for the blockbuster diabetes drug Farxiga and the potential departure of Soriot, the company continues to rely on scientific breakthroughs, particularly in the treatment of lung, breast, and other cancers.