Astrazeneca CEO 'delighted' with strategic progress

18th Nov 2014 07:11

Pharmaceutical group Astrazeneca has hailed the progress it has made on its strategy to deliver "sustainable growth and value through innovation".In a presentation to investors and analysts in London on Tuesday, the company is expected to update on its growth prospects and pipeline, saying it remains on track to return to growth by 2017."I am delighted with the progress we are making on our strategy," said chief executive Pascal Soriot."We have rapidly strengthened and accelerated our pipeline, established strong momentum behind our growth platforms and are creating significant value for patients and shareholders," he added.He said Astrazeneca has doubled the number of potential medicines in its late-stage pipeline since 2012.The company said its five current growth platforms - Brilinta, diabetes, respiratory, Emerging Markets and Japan - now account for more than half of group revenues.Oncology is set to become its sixth growth platform with several potential submissions in 2015-2016.The division, "fuelled by a very exciting portfolio of new products", has the potential to grow to a quarter of group sales by 2023, Astrazeneca said.Soriot said: "We are building a sustainable, more durable and profitable company. The tangible results being delivered reinforce our confidence that we will achieve our target of delivering revenues of over $45bn by 2023."Revenues totalled $25.7bn in 2013.