Sharp fall for AstraZeneca
pharmafile | October 26, 2012 | News story | Sales and Marketing | AstraZeneca, Brennan, Q3, Soriot
AstraZeneca saw its third quarter revenue and pre-tax profit both fall 15%, to $6.7 billion and $2 billion, respectively.
The company conceded that loss of exclusivity on several brands and the disposals of Astra Tech and Aptium were the ‘key drivers’ of revenue decline. It has long known there is a major problem: drugs which accounted for a fifth of all US sales last year are scheduled to lose patent protection by 2015.
“AstraZeneca’s results were as disappointing as expected given the effect of patent expiries on the company,” said Ana Nicholls, healthcare analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “The company has reached the edge of a steep patent cliff.”
Former chief executive David Brennan was forced out earlier this year, in large part due to shareholder pressure over the company’s recent performance. His successor Pascal Soriot, who came from Roche, has been largely tight-lipped about where he wants the company to go since taking over.
“Investors are waiting impatiently for a decisive strategy,” said Nicholls. “The company still has nothing very substantial in its late-stage pipeline.”
She points out that in his previous role, Soriot helped to oversee Roche’s successful integration of US biotech Genentech but believes he is “more likely to focus on in-licensing and partnerships”.
One of his first moves after taking over was to cancel AstraZeneca’s share buyback programme, which suggested to some observers that he is stockpiling money for a possible acquisition.
But Soriot has not been particularly forthcoming. “My priority is to restore the company to growth and scientific leadership,” Soriot said in a statement regarding Q3’s results.
The company pointed to the strong sales performance of Symbicort, Faslodex, Iressa and Onglyza as bright spots – but revenue across virtually all of the company’s disease areas overall was down.
Adam Hill
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