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| AstraZeneca sales tumble 18% in second quarter | AstraZeneca sales tumble 18% in second quarter |
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| AstraZeneca has been hit hard by competition to its antipsychotic drug Seroquel, until now one of its bestsellers, from generic drugs as well as lower health spending in Europe. Quarterly sales tumbled 18% in the second quarter, also dragged lower by problems with a new IT system in Sweden which led to supply chain disruptions. | |
| Britain's second biggest drugmaker, which is run by finance chief Simon Lowth until a successor to David Brennan is found, has stepped up deal-making to plug the holes in its pipeline left by the expiry of patents on many of its bestselling medicines. Brennan stepped down in May after an investor revolt, and is getting a payoff of up to £4.6m. | |
| Last month AstraZeneca teamed up with its US partner Bristol-Myers Squibb to buy US diabetes specialist Amylin Pharmaceuticals for $7bn (£4.5bn), the largest in a string of recent deals. It came hot on the heels of the group's acquisition of Ardea Biosciences, which has a gout treatment in late-stage development. | Last month AstraZeneca teamed up with its US partner Bristol-Myers Squibb to buy US diabetes specialist Amylin Pharmaceuticals for $7bn (£4.5bn), the largest in a string of recent deals. It came hot on the heels of the group's acquisition of Ardea Biosciences, which has a gout treatment in late-stage development. |
| Lowth said AstraZeneca would continue to "invest hard" in new drugs, through partnerships, licensing agreements and purchases of smaller firms. "We're always actively looking outside for high-quality science, high-quality projects and high-quality product portfolios to bring into AstraZeneca," he said. | Lowth said AstraZeneca would continue to "invest hard" in new drugs, through partnerships, licensing agreements and purchases of smaller firms. "We're always actively looking outside for high-quality science, high-quality projects and high-quality product portfolios to bring into AstraZeneca," he said. |
| But Seymour Pierce analyst Mike Mitchell was sceptical. He said: "The absence of a diversified strategy such as GlaxoSmithKline's means AstraZeneca remains significantly more exposed to industry-wide headwinds and … we are yet to be convinced by AstraZeneca's ability to deliver consistent successes with its M&A-heavy pipeline strategy." | |
| Revenues at constant exchange rates dropped to $6.7bn between April and June, with the loss of exclusivity on several key brands accounting for 15% of the decline. The heartburn pill Nexium and cholesterol drug Crestor lose US protection in 2014 and 2016 respectively. Reduced spending by governments on medicines, especially in Europe, cost AstraZeneca another $300m. Second-quarter profits before tax crashed 28% to $2.2bn. | |
| Sales in emerging markets edged up just 1%. China posted 12% growth thanks to strong sales of Crestor, asthma treatment Pulmicort and Seloken, a beta-blocker used to to treat disorders such as high blood pressure and angina. | |
| Bigger rival GSK also missed forecasts on Wednesday, reporting an 8% fall in European sales due to government-imposed price cuts, but is over the "patent cliff" and has diversified into areas such as vaccines and consumer healthcare. |