AstraZeneca announced a substantial $3.5 billion investment in its largest market, aiming for accelerated growth in 2024 earnings fueled by increased demand for oncology, biopharmaceuticals, and rare disease drugs, which drove impressive third-quarter results. This strategy is part of the company's ambitious plan to reach $80 billion in total revenue by 2030.
The British pharmaceutical firm will bolster its research and manufacturing footprint in the United States, a market that contributes 44% to its total revenue. By the end of 2026, AstraZeneca intends to establish a state-of-the-art research and development center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a biologics manufacturing facility in Maryland, and enhance its cell therapy manufacturing capabilities on both the East and West Coasts, alongside a specialty manufacturing site in Texas. The firm updated its revenue expectations, projecting core EPS growth in the high teens percentage at constant exchange rates for 2024, which surpasses prior forecasts of mid-teens growth.
This optimistic outlook was supported by strong product sales and alliance revenues, with expectations for specific sales milestones contributing to the financial optimism. Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot stated, "We are highly encouraged by the broad-based underlying momentum we are seeing across our company in 2024, and growth looks set to continue through 2025, providing a solid foundation to deliver on our 2030 ambition." In the third quarter ending September 30, profit attributable to parent company owners rose to $1.43 billion, up from $1.37 billion a year earlier, with total revenue soaring to $13.57 billion from $11.49 billion due to an 18% increase in product sales and sustained growth in revenues from partnered medicines. Regarding investigations in China, Soriot emphasized that the company approaches the matters "very seriously" and pledges full cooperation with authorities as required.
The company's president in China, Leon Wang, along with several current and former employees, was detained on accusations of illegal importation of cancer drugs. However, AstraZeneca has not been subjected to any inquiries directly. In early trading, shares experienced a downturn of 2%..