AstraZeneca puts new gene editing technology to the test with drug research programme January 29, 2015 Earlier today, British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca announced plans to use a new gene-editing technology to develop drugs for a variety of diseases. Called Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (Crispr), it allows the targeted editing of specific genes. When a gene is known to be involved in causing a particular disease, it will [...]
Pfizer will be let loose on AstraZeneca again tomorrow – but is another takeover bid likely? November 25, 2014 From tomorrow, Pfizer will once more be able to make a take-over bid for AstraZeneca, after a “final rejection” in May meant it could not approach the UK pharmaceutical firm for six months. The offer was worth £55 per share, valuing AstraZeneca at approximately £69bn. But it was not accepted, on the ground that [...]
AstraZeneca sets out plans to reach annual revenue of over $45bn by 2023 November 18, 2014 Having beaten off Pfizer's advances, AstraZeneca is doing a good job proving it can thrive on its own. The pharmaceutical giant said today that it expects to deliver annual revenues of $45bn by 2023, with a focus on long-term growth and innovation. Through its investment in research and development, it is accelerating programs and [...]
AstraZeneca share price drops despite revenue growth after Pfizer rejection November 6, 2014 Has AstraZeneca's confidence about its ability to keep growing without a larger parent like Pfizer at the helm paid off? The pharmaceutical giant posted figures this morning showing revenues had grown five per cent to $6.54bn (£4.09bn) during its third quarter. This beat analyst expectations of $6.41bn growth for the period, marking the British [...]
AstraZeneca completes $2.1bn takeover of Almirall franchise November 3, 2014 UK drug giant AstraZeneca yesterday completed its acquisition of rights for Spanish pharmaceutical firm Almirall’s respiratory franchise. The $2.1bn (£1.3bn) deal gives AstraZeneca ownership of the development and commercialisation of the business which includes drugs like Eklira, Duaklir Genuair and treatments for illnesses such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. AstraZeneca said the deal [...]
Pfizer share price rises on third quarter earnings – but no hint of new AstraZeneca bid October 28, 2014 Shares in pharmaceutical giant Pfizer rose 1.8 per cent in New York pre-market trading after it posted expectation-beating third-quarter results. Although earnings for its third quarter fell to 57 cents a share, down from 58 cents a share a year earlier, the figure beat analyst expectations of 55 cents a share. Revenues also fell, to [...]
Scuppered Pfizer-AstraZeneca deal leaves UK M&A at an all-time low September 2, 2014 Pfizer's thwarted acquisition of AstraZeneca may have kept proponents of British business happy – but it also helped push the number of mergers and acquisitions taking place in the UK to a historic low in the second quarter of 2014, official figures published this morning showed. The number of mergers and acquisitions involving UK companies [...]
US clears Astrazeneca over trial data for new heart drug Brilinta August 19, 2014 British drug giant Astrazeneca has been cleared by the US government over concerns about the trial process for its new heart drug Brilinta. The American department of justice was investigating the clinical trial conducted by Astrazeneca over concerns that too many patients were sourced from eastern Europe for the study. Perceived discrepancies in data reported [...]
Astrazeneca sweetens the pill as profit forecasts help boss Pascal Soriot July 31, 2014 British drugmaker Astrazeneca yesterday confounded City expectations by raising its sales and profit forecasts for this year, two months after fending off a near-£70bn takeover approach from bigger US rival Pfizer. Astrazeneca, the country’s second-largest pharmaceutical firm, reported a second consecutive quarter of revenue growth, beating City forecasts with second-quarter revenues of $6.5bn (£3.8bn), up [...]
Astrazeneca and Pfizer: It’s a conscious uncoupling as drugmakers go separate ways July 30, 2014 Drugmakers Astrazeneca and Pfizer yesterday put to bed their “will they, won’t they” bromance by signing new deals with other companies. FTSE 100-listed Astrazeneca, which fought off a £69bn takeover approach from larger US rival Pfizer in late May, said it had agreed to buy Spanish firm Almirall’s lung drugs business for up to $2.1bn [...]