AstraZeneca CEO, Pascal Soriot, has voiced his concern that Europe lags behind China and the U.S. in life sciences advancements. Republican rivals, he noted, put more funding into research than European leaders in the field, and offer more alluring wage packages, coaxing much of the global talent to the U.S.
“The industry’s progression is largely dictated by China and the US, Europe, sadly, trails behind,” Soriot declared. He himself was the recipient of a contentious wage increase recently.
America’s dominance in the pharmaceutical field obliges Europe-based firms to compete with those financially capable of offering significantly higher remuneration to their employees.
This warning was given whilst AstraZeneca, listed in the UK, reported a 19% hike in revenue for the first quarter of 2024. This followed Soriot’s pay increase of £1.8 million (€2.1 million,) potentially earning him up to £18.7 million this year.
While Soriot’s pay is considered substantial by European norms, he stated the aim was to make the AstraZeneca role desirable to a world-wide spectrum of contenders, especially in the U.S once he vacates his position, held since 2012.
“I anticipate my tenure to continue for a time, but eventually, there will be a successor. Internal and external candidates alike will need to be drawn by an attractive role,” Soriot stated. “The industry is international, and a large portion of the talent is based in the U.S.”
These remarks surface during an ongoing examination of Europe’s competitive stance, as business and political frontrunners across the continent highlight the necessity for European industries to be more adept challengers of China and the U.S.
Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norway’s $1.6 trillion oil fund, asserted Europeans are “less industrious” than Americans on Wednesday, suggesting this contributes to American firms surpassing European counterparts in innovative developments.
An analysis by the European Commission of the top 2,500 companies with the highest expenditure in research and development, published in 2023, indicated that just 12 per cent of leading companies investing in health, are European based. This contrasts with 55 per cent based in the U.S. and 17 per cent in China.
During Mr Soriot’s leadership at AstraZeneca, substantial investments have been made towards research and development (R&D). The results have led to the introduction of numerous successful pharmaceutical products, such as the high-selling oncological medications Tagrisso and Imfinzi, which garnered $1.6 billion and $1.1 billion in sales respectively during the first quarter.
Over the past year, AstraZeneca has also procured several small biotech organisations that are developing novel areas like cell therapies, obesity medications and radiopharmaceuticals. Soriot expressed on Thursday that AstraZeneca’s merger and acquisition ventures show no signs of halting, albeit at a decelerated pitch.
He further elucidated that in the past 12-18 months, an ample quantity of acquisitions have been carried out. It was perceived as an opportune period for these acquisitions, he stated. At present, the technology and platforms are in place, and the task at hand is to implement and assimilate all these added resources.
The British pharmaceutical giant reported a notable 19% increase in revenue – a whopping $12.7 billion – for the first quarter of the year 2024, significantly surpassing the projected consensus of $11.9 billion. Fueling these sales was a 26% surge in revenue from oncology and a dramatic 45% increase in sales for diabetes and heart failure drug Farxiga, achieving a sale of $1.9 billion in that quarter. AstraZeneca is projecting a low to mid-double-digit percentage growth in sales and revenue for this year.