Chief executive officer Pascal Soriot has said Astra hopes to bring cheaper weight-loss medicines to market that are easier to take and help preserve muscle mass compared with the current offerings. It is also rapidly expanding its presence in China, where Soriot separately announced US$15 billion in investment through 2030 as part of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official visit this week.
(Jan 30): AstraZeneca plc agreed to pay Chinese company CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd as much as US$18.5 billion for its obesity drug candidates, as the British drugmaker tries to push into the growing weight-loss market.
The agreement will see AstraZeneca pay US$1.2 billion for eight such contenders, including four injectable therapies with the potential to treat obesity and other weight-related conditions, according to a statement Friday.
