BY SHARON TODD, CEO | ASTRAZENECA IN FOCUS
In this month’s issue of C&I we take the time to celebrate the remarkable success of AstraZeneca, a modern powerhouse of scientific and business innovation and a company that’s consistently outperformed in terms of long term stock price growth.
While the company is 25 years old this year – formed from the merger of Astra with Zeneca back in 1999 – its history stretches back much further. Astra dates back to 1913 and Zeneca was of course for a long time part of ICI, formed in 1926, until its demerger in 1993.
It’s a fascinating history that we explore in a special feature on AstraZeneca at 25, starting on page 30 with my interview with the company’s UK Chair Shaun Grady.
AstraZeneca has been built on a focus on delivering value through scientific innovation and this holds true today. The company continues to develop its product pipeline, it is a gigantic magnet for talent and continually sets itself demanding targets.
There was a time, about a decade ago, when it looked like AstraZeneca would be acquired by a US rival. Instead, it set itself a huge target – to be a $45 billion revenue company by 2023. Last year it hit that target and now CEO Pascal Soriot has set the company an even bigger target, to reach $80 billion by 2030 - and introduce 20 new medicines along the way.
All of this would be a remarkable enough reinvention. But AstraZeneca’s response during the Covid-19 pandemic was also one of a kind.
It was instrumental in terms of rapidly providing a vaccine, innovating to reduce the normal timeframe of 10-15 years to get a new vaccine approved to just months. AZ did this through collaboration.
In response to the crisis, it also made the decision to produce the vaccine on a not-for-profit basis, almost unprecedented for a modern listed company.
Over 3 billion doses of the vaccine were delivered to more than 170 countries, saving an estimated six million lives in the first year alone, more than any other Covid vaccine. This was truly science delivering for society.
Fittingly, in recognition of this remarkable achievement, Soriot received a knighthood for services to UK life sciences and leadership. Earlier this year, he also received the SCI President’s Medal – one of Society’s highest honours, awarded for the first time in more than a quarter of a century.
So, beyond this impressive rise, what lessons does AstraZeneca’s story so far hold for the industry and for wider society?
For me, firstly, there continues to be a critical role for innovation in science to play for society. This more so than ever as the challenges facing society include addressing climate change and sustainability as well as health and wellbeing.
Secondly, a business focus on delivering value from innovative science can lead to remarkable financial results, as shown by AstraZeneca’s stock price.
And thirdly, it is a reminder that accelerating the pace of scientific discovery to commercialisation is a collaborative venture. Partnerships and shared exploration of challenging problems, whether that’s with start-ups or universities, will always remain a key part of the science innovation story.
Investing in the science has been a core message for AstraZeneca and this has been the key to delivering the company’s success over the last decade. It has also made some very astute acquisitions along the way that have further fuelled that growth.
Another lesson I take from the success of AstraZeneca is that standing still is never an option; the AstraZeneca of today looks very different to the one of a decade ago and no doubt, with the advent of artificial intelligence and new modalities, it will look different tomorrow. That’s why having a strong culture is key, and where AstraZeneca’s concept of ‘casual intensity’ has helped it to thrive.
Interestingly, the founders of ICI were also, along with many others (George Matthey of JM, William Lever of Unilever, Dr Siemens, the Pilkington’s family, Earnest Solvay and many notable scientists and engineers such as Alfred Nobel and Leo Baekeland) founders of SCI back in 1881. Scientific innovation delivering value for society, collaboration across diverse areas of expertise and continuing to innovate the business model: these are all ideas that continue to resonate.
As we look into 2025, SCI will continue its focus on sustainability – not just of the science but also of business. We will be launching SCI Sustainability – our new groundbreaking journal bringing together the key disciplines and knowledge needed to address the complex challenges of sustainability and industry. This new journal is an innovation in itself bridging across the physical sciences, social science, policy and economics and it will, uniquely, be advised by an industrial strategy board. More about this journal and Where Science Meets Business 2024 where it was launched, can be found on pages 46 and 47.
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