AstraZeneca secures $25.6bn revenue in first half of 2024 - up 18% - as CEO forecasts growth into 2030s
AstraZeneca recorded an 18 per cent rise in revenue in the first half of the year, during which progress on disruptive technologies prompted CEO Pascal Soriot to forecast growth beyond 2030.
The Cambridge-headquartered biopharmaceutical achieved $25.6bn in revenue in the first six months of the year, including a record $12.9bn in the second quarter.
Core operating profit increased to $8.4bn for the six months, while core earnings per share (EPS) rose 5 per cent to $4.03.
The revenue growth was driven by an 18 per cent rise in product sales and continued growth in alliance revenue from partnered medicines.
And it reflected strong performances across its therapy areas around the world, with 22 per cent revenue rises seen in oncology, CVRM (cardiovascular, renal and metabolism) and respiratory and immunology, while revenue for its rare disease drugs was up 15 per cent.
Mr Soriot said: “Building on our strong growth in the first half of the year and continued underlying demand for our medicines, we are upgrading our full year 2024 guidance for both total revenue and core EPS.”
The company now expects these each to grow by a mid-teens percentage at a constant exchange rate, updated from a low double digit to low teens number.
Mr Soriot continued: “At our investor day in May we set out a new revenue ambition to deliver $80billion of total revenue by 2030. This is a clear reflection of the substantial growth potential we see from both our approved medicines and those in our late-stage pipeline. Already this year we have announced five positive, potentially practice-changing Phase III studies that are anticipated to meaningfully contribute to our growth.
“In the year to date we have continued to make encouraging progress with several disruptive technologies, including antibody drug conjugates, bispecifics, cell and gene therapies, radioconjugates, and weight management medicines, all of which have the potential to drive our growth beyond 2030.”
The company has been investing heavily in its future in the second quarter of the year. It announced plans in May to build a $1.5billion manufacturing facility in Singapore for antibody drug conjugates - next-generation treatments that deliver highly potent cancer-killing agents directly to cancer cells through a targeted antibody.
The greenfield facility, backed by the Singapore Economic Development Board, will be the company’s first end-to-end ADC production site.
In May, AstraZeneca completed an additional $140m equity investment in Cellectis, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, while in June it acquired Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc for $2.4bn. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is developing next-generation radioconjugates.
Earlier this month, it acquired Amolyt Pharma, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel treatments for rare endocrine diseases for a sum up to $1.05 billion.
