LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) – Concise global finance insights in the Covid-19 era.
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TUNNEL VIEW. AstraZeneca is trying to take the focus away from vaccines. Although the $ 130 billion group created one of the world’s leading Covid-19 jabs, questionable effectiveness for those over 55 and confusion in the supply chain in Europe created headaches for Chief Executive Pascal Soriot. On Thursday, he emphasized the success of the core business, where sales of new drugs are surpassing older ones, and predicts that revenue will increase by a low percentage of teenagers in 2021, excluding the vaccine launch.
As of the first quarter, AstraZeneca will withdraw vaccine sales from its core business, reflecting its decision to sell vaccines at cost during the pandemic. This should help reassure investors who have pushed shares down 11% since last September, when the company was forced to stop a vaccine test. AstraZeneca still trades with future earnings 20 times higher, well above competitors like GlaxoSmithKline. Soriot does not want the vaccine to infect its premium rating. (By Aimee Donnellan)
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