Tremelimumab

AstraZeneca's CEO said the company's $80 billion revenue target by 2030 is not affected by the recent “most favored nation” drug pricing deal with the Trump administration. The “most favored nation” (MFN) drug pricing deal AstraZeneca recently signed with the Trump administration won’t affect the British pharma’s revenue target, CEO Pascal Soriot said.“We can absorb the impact of this agreement,” Soriot told investors on AZ’s third-quarter earnings call Thursday. “We’re confident we can absorb it in ’26 and beyond. And it really doesn’t affect our 2030 ambition and doesn’t affect our midterm ambition.”AZ unveiled a plan last year aimed at increasing its revenue to $80 billion by 2030, up from $54 billion in 2024.The AZ chief cited a broad portfolio—both geographically and in terms of new product launches—to back his confidence. These include a slate of key data readouts next year that represent a combined risk-adjusted peak revenue opportunity of more than $10 billion.The exact terms of AZ’s agreement with the U.S. government remain confidential, but Soriot said they cover all four requests that President Donald Trump laid out in his July letters to 17 pharma CEOs, including Soriot.Based on the deal, Soriot said AZ doesn’t expect any new requests from the administration.“But, of course, we are not the government, so we cannot guarantee anything,” he added.Part of Trump’s MFN policy includes what Soriot called “rebalancing and equalization of the cost and the risk” of medicines across developed countries. That includes pushing for higher drug spending outside the U.S.In AZ’s home country, the biopharma industry is reworking drug price policies with the U.K. government. One of AZ’s two main demands is for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence—which determines whether medicines will be covered under the NHS—to increase its cost-effectiveness evaluation threshold to account for inflation. The other is for greater allocation of overall healthcare spending on medicines, as reflected in rebate rates under the U.K.’s cost-containment scheme for branded medicines, Soriot said on a separate call with reporters.“The U.K. is incredibly well-placed to be the center of life sciences in Europe, but it needs to attract investment from large companies; otherwise, academic research is insufficient,” he said. “This is a message we have been delivering for quite some time now, and we need to see movements.” Soriot’s reiterated confidence in the $80 billion revenue goal comes off a strong quarter for AZ, which reported total product sales of about $14.4 billion. The sales figure exceeded analysts’ expectations of $14 billion, thanks mainly to strong performance from the oncology department, Leerink Partners analysts pointed out in a Nov. 6 note. But several analysts on Thursday’s investor call questioned the long-term potential of several of AZ’s cancer drugs, including Daiichi Sankyo-partnered Enhertu, the BTK inhibitor Calquence and the PD-L1/CTLA-4 immunotherapy duo of Imfinzi and Imjudo.As Enhertu reached quarterly global sales of $1.29 billion, AZ’s share of revenue from the antibody-drug conjugate reached $714 million during the quarter.Enhertu, as part of a first-line treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer, is under FDA priority review, with a target decision date of Jan. 23, 2026. Going into the first line will expand the total eligible patient population and duration of therapy for Enhertu, AZ’s oncology business chief Dave Fredrickson said on the call.Enhertu recently also showed positive phase 3 data in two trials as a neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer. As one analyst noted on the call, key opinion leader feedback suggested a relatively modest initial uptake in this setting. Fredrickson suggested early breast cancer represents a blockbuster opportunity for Enhertu and that doctors will follow treatment guidelines. One surprise from AZ’s Q3 came from Imfinzi and Imjudo, which together beat the consensus estimate by 8%, with sales of $1.69 billion.Recently added uses in limited-stage small cell lung cancer, resectable non-small cell lung cancer and muscle-invasive bladder cancer contributed to the growth. Those three indications, plus potential upcoming approvals in early-stage stomach cancer and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, could drive further sales increases, Fredrickson said.As for Calquence, the blood cancer drug brought in $916 million in sales in the third quarter, up 11% year over year at constant exchange rates. Despite the haul coming 2% above consensus, it still lagged BeOne Medicines’ $1 billion for its rival BTK inhibitor Brukinsa.Calquence is among 15 drugs selected for the second round of price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act, with their updated prices going into effect in 2027. The negotiation period ended Nov. 1. Fredrickson didn’t comment on the result but said it will be announced later this year.