Astrazeneca's chief executive, Pascal Soriot, has warned that Europe is jeopardising its "ability to protect the health of its own people at risk" by not investing sufficiently.
He further stated that the continent is "falling behind" in attracting R&D and manufacturing investment and needs to "invest more in what really matters to it," as reported by .
These remarks follow Astrazeneca's re-entry into the main US drug lobby group after a two-year hiatus. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) confirmed this decision, which comes on the heels of the drugmaker's announcement last year of a $3.5bn (£2.6bn) investment in the United States.
This funding will be used to expand its research and development as well as its manufacturing capabilities by the end of next year. Soriot emphasised, "The world order is shifting right now and Europe needs to invest more in what really matters to it."
He added, "Europe has stepped up to invest more in defence and now it must protect its health sovereignty."
He concluded by saying, "Europe spends a substantially lower share of GDP on innovative medicines than the US and, as a result, is falling behind in attracting R&D and manufacturing investments, putting its ability to protect the health of its own people at risk."
Huge pay day for Astrazeneca CEO
In related news, City AM reported in February that Astrazeneca "is too big and complex to base its chief executive's pay packet on the rest of the FTSE index".
In the annual report of the pharmaceutical behemoth, Sheri McCoy, chair of the remuneration committee, stated that "º£½ÇÊÓƵ-listed FTSE companies are not the right peer group for us to use" due to the company's "size, complexity and global footprint".
Astrazeneca awarded CEO Pascal Soriot a pay package totalling £14.7m for the latest financial year, a decrease from the previous year's £17.3m, largely attributable to the long-term incentive plan.
At the previous annual general meeting, Astrazeneca encountered significant shareholder dissent regarding proposed changes to its remuneration policy, although the reforms ultimately passed despite considerable opposition.
Following the contentious AGM, McCoy has engaged in efforts to garner support from key investors, committing to greater transparency regarding the rationale for remuneration policies going forward.
Despite challenges in China, Astrazeneca reported a 21 per cent surge in revenue last year.
The company, a leading force on the FTSE 100, announced revenues of $54bn (£43.3bn) for the year, marking a 21 per cent increase from 2023.
According to the full-year results, revenue in Europe soared by 37 per cent, while the US saw a 28 per cent rise.
