We are very American now, says Astra boss: Soriot fuels fears of switch to New York
Speaking from the British pharma giant's offices in New York, Pascal Soriot said it was 'global', but it was 'very much rooted and present in the US'. He added that continuing to view it as a British company was 'old-fashioned'.
The comments fuelled speculation that the FTSE 100 group could switch its main stock market listing from London to New York, and even move its headquarters to the US.
That would be a devastating blow to Britain and the London Stock Exchange as AstraZeneca is the largest listed firm on the Footsie, valued at £167billion.
'I love America and its focus on innovation,' Soriot said, highlighting that the firm expected to make over half of its sales in the US by 2030 and has 'thousands of employees' in the country.
'We are a very American company. We are global, but we are very much rooted and present in the US,' he added.
Soriot insisted he would not comment on 'rumours' it was considering shifting its listing across the Atlantic.
AstraZeneca posted profits of £4.9billion for the first half of the year, a 26 per cent increase on 2024, while sales rose 9 per cent to £21billion.
The figures were boosted by record revenues in the three months to June, which grew 12 per cent to £11billion.
Soriot said the surge in profits was down to the firm's 'broad and diverse pipeline' with sales of cancer medicines increasing by 15 per cent to nearly £9billion in the first half of the year.
Meanwhile, the company's crucial US market continued to expand, with sales in the country rising 12 per cent to £9billion.
Last week, the company unveiled plans to invest £37billion in the US, which included the construction of a drug factory in Virginia.
But the move fuelled fears that AstraZeneca is preparing to shift its stock market listing to Wall Street, a move Soriot is said to privately support.
Pharma companies are seeking to avoid any hit from Donald Trump's tariff measures, with the president threatening to impose levies of up to 200 per cent on the industry.
Sheena Berry, healthcare analyst at wealth manager Quilter Cheviot, said: 'This is a delicate situation for AstraZeneca. It will want to stay on the right side of Trump and his administration as much as possible.'
Soriot said the firm has met 'many members' of the Trump administration, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, to discuss its contribution to the US economy.
While he insisted the firm remained 'committed to the UK', Soriot said European countries were falling behind their rivals and called for governments to boost investment into developing new drugs and bringing them to market.
He said the UK should increase investments in pharma research to 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product, equivalent to £15.2billion, up from 0.3 per cent now, noting that the US spends 0.8 per cent of its GDP on drug development, equivalent to £166billion.
'We love being in the UK [but] we need to see a reason to invest,' Soriot said.
AstraZeneca's drive towards the US is also an embarrassing snub to the Government, with pharmaceuticals considered a key industry in Keir Starmer's drive to revive economic growth.
Shares rose 3.4 per cent yesterday.
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