AstraZeneca targets $80 billion in total revenue by 2030 in 'post-Covid era'

LONDON — Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca on Tuesday said it planned to increase its total revenue to $80 billion by 2030 — up 75% from $45.8 billion in 2023.

"We have a lot of confidence in this 80 billion ambition because of the portfolio and the breadth and scale of the portfolio that we see today," AstraZeneca's Chief Financial Officer Aradhana Sarin told CNBC's Arabile Gumede on Tuesday.

AstraZeneca will focus on its oncology, biopharmaceuticals and rare diseases businesses and expects to release an additional 20 medicines in the next six years.

"Many of them have the potential to be $5 billion drugs," Sarin noted. A company statement detailed that this revenue figure could be hit annually for many of the new medicines in peak years.

Europe-traded shares in AstraZeneca were last 0.66% higher at 9:35 a.m. London time, following the announcement.

AstraZeneca's plans include developing medicines to treat at least half of potential cancers, and developing alternatives to classic treatments like chemotherapy and radiation.

"For the entire market to get replaced it will take time, but we think we have the technology today to start replacing them," Sarin told CNBC.

Some cancer treatments developed by AstraZeneca have already been approved by the U.S. FDA, including the drug Enhertu, a so-called antibody drug conjugate developed with Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo, which aims to treat breast cancer patients.

AstraZeneca has also announced acquisitions of pharmaceutical companies, including cancer-treatment focused Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. On Monday, the company revealed plans to build an antibody drug conjugate manufacturing facility in Singapore.

"That's the new technology which will replace chemotherapy. That is very complex manufacturing, which is why you need an end-to-end which is why we decided to make this investment in Singapore," Sarin said. Investments have also been made at other AstraZeneca sites, she added.

AstraZeneca became a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic, when it developed one of the first shots against the disease in collaboration with the University of Oxford. The drug, known as Vaxzevria, will be withdrawn from the market, given tapering demand and the emergence of other shots that are tailored to specific Covid variants.

"For us, for sure, this is the post-Covid era," Sarin told CNBC. "We supplied vaccines during the Covid pandemic more because, you know, it was a public health crisis. It was not really our business to be in Covid vaccines."

AstraZeneca's business has historically been focused on areas such as oncology and cardio-vascular health, and this will remain the company's focus going forward, Sarin said. Drugs for diabetes and metabolic diseases will also play a role in AstraZeneca's development, she indicated.

"We're looking at some weight management drugs as well, potentially also combining them with drugs that help with comorbidities that a lot of the patients with weight management issues have," she said.

AstraZeneca last year entered a deal with Shanghai-based pharmaceutical company Eccogene for a weight-loss and cardio-metabolic drug, pushing into the race for weight management medication that is currently dominated largely by Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Ozempic, as well as Eli Lilly's Mounjaro.

But supply constraints could mean that competitors including Pfizer and Amgen could play a bigger role in the market this year.