AstraZeneca Reports Strong H1 2023 Performance with China Revenue Exceeding $3 Billion and Enhertu Sales Doubling; Appoints New R&D Executive

On July 28, AstraZeneca announced its 2023H1 financial results, with total revenue of $22.295 billion, including $21.448 billion from product sales. Excluding COVID-19 products, the revenue for the first half of the year was $21.961 billion, representing a 12% year-over-year increase. R&D investment amounted to $5.278 billion, marking a 13% year-over-year growth.

In terms of regional distribution, the U.S. market generated $9.081 billion in revenue for the first half of the year, representing a 7% increase year-on-year; the emerging markets brought in $6.277 billion, showing a slight growth compared to last year. The China region contributed $3.043 billion in revenue for the first half of the year, accounting for nearly half of the total performance.

From the perspective of disease areas, the oncology business remains the primary source of AstraZeneca's performance. In the first half of the year, the company achieved 18% growth driven by four blockbuster drugs: Tagrisso (osimertinib), Imfinzi (durvalumab), Lynparza (olaparib), and Calquence (acalabrutinib), with a total revenue of $8.794 billion.

CVRM (Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism Business Unit) is the second-largest pillar of AstraZeneca's performance, with H1 revenue reaching $5.239 billion (+14%); followed by Rare Disease business revenue ($3.819 billion, +9%) and Respiratory & Immunology (R&I) ($3.180 billion, +7%); Vaccines & Immune Therapies (V&I) business revenue plummeted to $632 million (-77%) due to a sharp decline in sales of COVID-19 products.

In the first half of the year, AstraZeneca had a total of 8 products with sales exceeding 1 billion US dollars: Tagrisso (Osimertinib, 2.915 billion US dollars), Imfinzi (Durvalumab, 1.976 billion US dollars), Lynparza (Olaparib, 1.368 billion US dollars), Calquence (Acalabrutinib, 1.185 billion US dollars), Farxiga (Dapagliflozin, 2.804 billion US dollars), Symbicort (Budesonide + Formoterol, 1.288 billion US dollars), Soliris (Eculizumab, 1.648 billion US dollars), and Ultomiris (Ravulizumab, 1.364 billion US dollars).

Specifically, the Phase III ADAURA study data for Tagrisso (osimertinib) in the adjuvant treatment of NSCLC significantly boosted the demand for this product. However, due to price reductions under national health insurance, overall performance growth has slowed. Meanwhile, the PD-L1 antibody Imfinzi (durvalumab) has shown strong growth as it gains traction across various regions globally.

BTK Inhibitor Calquence (Acalabrutinib) Continues to Maintain Rapid Growth, with Revenue Expected to Exceed $2 Billion by the End of This Year. Star Product Enhertu (Trastuzumab Deruxtecan) is Currently the Most Attention-Grabbing Drug in AstraZeneca's Oncology Portfolio, Generating $580 Million in Revenue in the First Half of the Year, Mainly Driven by Its Continuous Expansion in Global Markets. Earlier this Year, Enhertu Was Successively Approved for Low-Expression Breast Cancer Indications in Japan and the EU, and for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Indications in China. In July, the Low-Expression Breast Cancer Indication of This Product Also Launched in China.

Farxiga (Dapagliflozin) is the cornerstone product of AstraZeneca's CVRM business. Driven by its potential in heart failure and chronic kidney disease, the product achieved sales of $2.804 billion (+33%) in the first half of the year, accounting for more than half of the total revenue of the CVRM business. Emerging markets and the EU are the main markets for this product. However, with the deepening of bulk procurement policies, competition in the Chinese market is expected to intensify.

Two C5 monoclonal antibodies that AstraZeneca acquired through the acquisition of Alexion, Soliris (eculizumab) and Ultomiris (ravulizumab), also contributed significantly to its revenue. Among them, Ultomiris has achieved a sales growth rate of up to 60% in the first half of the year due to new indications expansion, new market expansion, and the successful conversion from Soliris, and is expected to enter the 2 billion dollar molecule club by the end of the year.

AstraZeneca also highlighted in its financial report the company's new generation of therapies, including oligonucleotide drugs, cell therapies, gene therapies, and RNA therapies.

In the second half of 2023 and 2024, AstraZeneca will reach the milestone events as shown in the figure below. Indications such as Calquence for CLL and Forxiga for HFpEF are expected to be approved in China soon.

On the same day, AstraZeneca also announced that Alexion had reached an agreement with Pfizer to acquire a series of preclinical gene therapy programs and innovative technologies from the latter for $1 billion. In addition, Sharon Barr will serve as the company's Executive Vice President of Biopharmaceuticals R&D, succeeding the retiring Mene Pangalos, and will be mainly responsible for drug discovery and late-stage development in the cardiovascular, renal, metabolic, as well as respiratory and immunology fields.

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