AstraZeneca is Britain's most valuable listed company. The firm was formed in 1999 from the merger of Sweden's Astra and Britain's Zeneca Group. It listed in Britain largely as an endorsement of the country's attractive climate for research and development.
Pascal Soriot, a French-born Australian, took over as chief executive in 2012. He helped turn the firm around after years of stagnation, eschewing higher shareholder payouts—buy-backs ceased between 2013 and 2021—and channelling cash into scientific discovery. He has been outspoken about his frustrations with Britain, calling AstraZeneca "a very American company" and saying Britain needed "to see that there is access and a reason to invest."
In 2020 AstraZeneca developed a covid-19 vaccine with Oxford University, turning the firm into a household name and a symbol of British scientific prowess. Its share price rose by nearly half in the period that followed.
In 2014 Pfizer, an American rival, made a takeover bid. British ministers called for AstraZeneca's protection on public-interest grounds.
The firm's relationship with its home country has frayed. In 2021 Sir Pascal picked Ireland over England for a new £320m factory, blaming Britain's "discouraging" taxes. In November 2024 NICE, England's drug-approval body, rejected the firm's breast-cancer drug, Enhertu, over its high price, despite its availability in 25 other European countries including Scotland. AstraZeneca scrapped a £450m expansion of its vaccine plant in Liverpool after ministers cut subsidies; Sir Pascal rejected a final offer of £78m, calling the project "unviable."
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has complained that its members pay back nearly a quarter of total sales to the NHS—quadruple the average rate in France.
Over 90% of the firm's small-molecule discovery pipeline is now AI-assisted. Jim Weatherall heads this activity. According to Weatherall, AI sorts the wheat from the chaff twice as fast as before.
AstraZeneca employs more people in America than anywhere else. It believes the American market will account for half of revenues by 2030, up from 44% as of mid-2025. In anticipation of tariffs, it pledged $50bn in American investment by 2030 and rejoined the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the country's biggest drug lobby.
Other commitments include $1.5bn for a cancer-drug factory in Singapore, $570m for 700 scientific jobs in Canada, $1.5bn for its R&D centre in Spain, $2.5bn for a new R&D centre in Beijing—its second in China—and £200m for a conference facility in Cambridge. (20250927, 20260110, 20260502)
Higher education helps your earning capacity. Ask any college professor.