Despite growing tensions between the US and China, the global pharmaceutical industry continues to be bullish on growth in the Asian nation.
AstraZeneca (AZN) CEO Pascal Soriot has been vocal about the need to continue to do business in all countries, despite geopolitical tensions.
"The US is the No. 1 source of innovation in the world in our industry. China is the second one, and growing rapidly. We also have 1.4 billion people in China who are getting richer and older, and have diseases, of course, and they need our medicines, they can afford our medicines, we need to take care of them," he told Yahoo Finance in an interview Thursday.
It's why the company is busy building out separate supply chains: "One taking care of the West ... and one that is more specifically targeted at supplying China and some emerging markets. We are really trying to have two supply chains that are relatively independent of each other," Soriot said.
That includes three new manufacturing sites — in Ireland, China, and Maryland — as part of $799 million in spending in the first half of 2024, according to the company's second quarter earnings report Thursday.
The company reported a beat on earnings, with a revenue increase of 18% in second quarter, totaling $25.6 billion, of which 22% came from its oncology portfolio. The company also upgraded its guidance for the year, anticipated to grow by a mid-teens percentage, from previous low double-digit expectations. AstraZeneca reported earnings per share of $4.03, a year-over-year increase of 5%.
In this way, Soriot said, the company is able to better "manage the turbulences" of the geopolitical landscape.
But he also had a message for Americans: "I think it's important for Americans to remember that the US is the country where people access innovation the fastest and the broadest, actually. It's not perfect, there are difficulties, there are challenges. But, certainly, healthcare in the US is ahead of what people get in Europe."
Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, care services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. Follow Anjalee on all social media platforms @AnjKhem.
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