AstraZeneca leaps as Soriot strategy starts to pay off

The strategy pursued by Pascal Soriot since he took over as AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) chief executive in 2012 – of investing massively in R&D in the hope of replacing revenues lost through expiring patents – has arguably been one of the bravest in pharma.

There has been no shortage of criticism, too, particularly after a bad read-out of results from the MYSTIC trial of the immuno-oncology (IO) drug Imfinzi (durvalumab) last summer – with the Anglo-Swedish company losing £10 billion ($13.2 billion) in market value in a day and the Frenchman’s strategy and salary subsequently being questioned.

The latest financial results – which led to AstraZeneca’s share price jumping by 2.5% in five hours of trading – are evidence that perhaps that investment is starting to bear fruit, with figures looking healthy despite the loss of exclusivity of Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium) bringing sales in the cardiovascular drug down by 40% compared to the second quarter of 2017.