AstraZeneca has reported a strong set of fourth-quarter results and predicted a similarly strong performance for 2026, as it rides a growth wave driven by its cancer therapies.
Total revenues grew 8% to $58.7 billion, with oncology products rising 14%, which the company said keeps it on track to meet its lofty projection of making $80 billion a year by 2030. It is forecasting that revenues will increase by a mid to high single-digit percentage this year.
Chief executive Pascal Soriot said the strong commercial performance means it now boasts 16 brands with annual sales above $1 billion, and was accompanied by "excellent pipeline delivery," with 16 phase 3 readouts last year and another 20 or more cued up before the end of 2026.
Soriot added that AZ is pushing to have more than 25 blockbuster brands in the market in 2030 and is also building for further growth beyond that year, highlighting new drugs for cancer and weight loss, as well as gene therapies.
In 2025, highlights of AZ's commercial execution in cancer included 40% growth for Daiichi Sankyo-partnered anti-HER2 therapy Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) to $2.78 billion, a strong performance for PD-L1 inhibitor Imfinzi (durvalumab), climbing 28% to top $6 billion, and a 68% rise for prostate and breast cancer drug Truqap (capivasertib) to $728 million.
In other categories, asthma therapy Tezspire (tezepelumab), Sanofi-partnered respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prophylactic Beyfortus (nirsevimab), and Saphnelo (anifrolumab) for lupus also made strong double-digit gains.
Oral GLP-1 hits the mark in phase 2
In its update, AZ said that phase 3 trials are starting for elecoglipron (formerly AZD5004), an oral GLP-1 agonist that could compete with Novo Nordisk's recently launched Wegovy (semaglutide) pill and Eli Lilly's late-stage rival orforglipron in the fiercely-contested weight-loss category.
AZ also revealed positive top-line results for elecoglipron in the phase 2b VISTA and SOLSTICE trials, achieving weight-loss of 5% or more at 26 weeks and improving blood glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Other new pipeline disclosures for AZ in its annual update include that it is discontinuing the TROPION-Lung12 study of PD-1/TIGIT bispecific antibody rilvegostomig, as a monotherapy and in combination with TROP2-directed antibody-drug conjugate Datroway (datopotamab deruxtecan) in high-risk non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The company said the decision was due to "operational feasibility."
It has also abandoned plans to file PARP inhibitor Lynparza (olaparib) for newly-diagnosed, advanced ovarian cancer, after discussions with international regulators about data from the supporting DUO-O trial.
There was more good news for AZ's aldosterone synthase inhibitor (ASI) baxdrostat, already filed in the US for hard-to-treat hypertension and billed as a possible $5 billion-a-year product. The drug has also shown efficacy in the BaxAsia trial, setting up regulatory filings in Asian markets.
https://pharmaphorum.com/news/astrazeneca-raises-guidance-stellar-cancer-drugs-growth
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