AstraZeneca Looks for Growth With New Drugs as COVID Sales Wane

Per Reuters, Astrazeneca CEO Pascal Soriot announced that the company is on track to deliver at least 15 new medicines this decade and expect to start at least 30 new late-stage clinical trials in 2023.

AstraZeneca also predicts a return to growth in China, one of its key markets, after reporting a second consecutive quarter of growth, despite ongoing drug price pressure.

The CEO stated that they are "very much on track to deliver [their] industry-leading growth ambitions for 2025, but also beyond until 2030." Despite facing higher costs due to the ongoing pandemic and the war in Ukraine, AstraZeneca's operating profit margins have risen from 27% in 2021 to 30% in 2022 and are expected to continue to improve steadily.