Chief Financial Officer Aradhana Sarin reported that AstraZeneca delivered very strong commercial results over the first nine months of 2025, with total revenue up 11% year-on-year and core earnings per share rising 15%. Oncology revenue increased 16%, biopharmaceuticals 8% and rare disease 6%, driven by growth in newer medicines which more than offset the impact of patent expiries on mature brands such as Brilinta, Pulmicort and Soliris. Regionally, the U.S. grew 11% and emerging markets outside China grew 21%. Management reiterated its four-year guidance for total revenue to increase by high single digits and core EPS to grow by low double-digit percentages at constant exchange rates, while cautioning that fourth-quarter results will be affected by China procurement policies and timing of tenders in certain emerging markets as well as the absence of over $800 million in collaboration milestones recognized in late 2024. Full-year results are scheduled for release on February 10.

Sarin described 2025 as a catalyst-rich year during which AstraZeneca delivered 16 positive Phase 3 readouts representing aggregate peak revenue opportunities exceeding $10 billion. Late-year FDA approvals included Imfinzi for perioperative gastric cancer and Enhertu for first-line HER2-positive breast cancer, while baxdrostat received priority review in hypertension. Looking to 2026, the company expects to launch multiple new medicines under regulatory review, including baxdrostat, camizestrant and garadacimab, positioning the firm for continued momentum in cardiovascular, oncology and immunology.

AstraZeneca emphasized its governance framework for R&D, under which projects are ranked collectively to support science-driven risk-taking rather than pre-allocating budgets by therapy area. The company anticipates full-year 2026 R&D spend at the upper end of the low-20% range of revenues, funding 104 ongoing Phase 3 studies and a large step-up in patient enrollment, particularly in cardiovascular, renal and metabolism outcome trials. Two AI initiatives were highlighted: IDA, which could halve time-to-commercial scale-up in synthetic manufacturing, and QCS (Quantitative Continuous Scoring), which uses computational pathology to identify patients most likely to benefit from antibody-drug conjugates. The recent acquisition of Modela AI is expected to advance the company’s pathology foundation models.

Management reaffirmed confidence in its risk-adjusted $80 billion revenue target for 2030, noting that consensus estimates have moved from $67 billion at the target’s announcement to close to $80 billion today. In oncology, executives highlighted underappreciated assets such as the dual CD19/BCMA CAR-T AZD0120 and the PD-1/TIGIT bispecific rilvegostomig, alongside lifecycle management for Tagrisso based on combination data. On U.S. policy, the phased implementation of the Most Favored Nation agreement is expected to begin with Medicaid, impacting a low-single-digit percentage of global sales in 2026, with full incorporation into guidance at the start of the year.