The market value of global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca broke through £ 200 billion ($257 billion) for the first time yesterday, after the company's bold bets on cancer drugs drove its stock price up continuously.
On Tuesday (August 13th), the company's market value exceeded £ 200 billion for the first time; After the opening of the London session on Wednesday, the stock rose by 0.5% at one point, expanding its gains since the beginning of the year to 22%, and then experienced a slight correction.
Currently, AstraZeneca is the most valuable listed company in the UK, leading Shell since April this year. In US dollar terms, AstraZeneca's market value ranks seventh in Europe.
Since 2012, Pascal Sooriot, the CEO of AstraZeneca, has been leading the company. Two years after he took office, American pharmaceutical company Pfizer abandoned its acquisition of AstraZeneca, which boosted AstraZeneca's stock price. As a result, Sooriot received praise and solidified its position.
In recent years, AstraZeneca has made significant investments in anti-cancer drugs, which have proven to be successful. By 2023, Sooriot's bet on anti-cancer drugs will bring AstraZeneca's annual revenue to over $45 billion and set a target of $80 billion in sales for the company by 2030.
In June this year, an experimental study showed that AstraZeneca's lung cancer and breast cancer drugs significantly slowed the spread of the disease in the two trials. Positive experimental data showed that these drugs might become a new treatment scheme for some patients.
Danni Hewson, the head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said, "The company's growth has been stable rather than volatile, and its potential for progress in cancer treatment and certain weight loss drugs has attracted investors' attention. This is also a blessing for the London market