AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca plc

AstraZeneca's headquarters in Cambridge
Type	Public
Traded as	Short description: Stock exchange in the City of London London Stock Exchange Type Stock exchange Location City of London, England, United Kingdom Founded 30 December 1801; 224 years ago (1801-12-30) Owner London Stock Exchange Group Key people Don Robert (Chairman) David Schwimmer (CEO) Currency Sterling (most primary listings; stock prices are quoted in pence rather than pounds) No. of listings 1,918 issuers [1] Market cap USD$3.18 trillion (as of August 2023[update])[2] Indices FTSE 100 Index FTSE 250 Index FTSE 350 Index FTSE SmallCap Index FTSE All-Share Index Website {{{1}}} London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England , United Kingdom. As of August 2023,[update] the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at $3.18 trillion.[3] Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Since 2007, it has been part of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG (LSE: [Script error: No such module "Stock tickers/LSE". LSEG])).[4] The LSE is the most-valued stock exchange in Europe as of 2023.[5] According to the 2020 Office for National Statistics report, approximately 12% of UK-resident individuals reported having investments in stocks and shares.[6] According to the 2020 Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) report, approximately 15% of UK adults reported having investments in stocks and shares.[7] History Coffee House The Royal Exchange had been founded by English financier Thomas Gresham and Sir Richard Clough on the model of the Antwerp Bourse. It was opened by Elizabeth I of England in 1571.[8][9] During the 17th century, stockbrokers were not allowed in the Royal Exchange due to their rude manners. They had to operate from other establishments in the vicinity, notably Jonathan's Coffee-House. At that coffee house, a broker named John Castaing started listing the prices of a few commodities, such as salt, coal, paper, and exchange rates in 1698. Originally, this was not a daily list and was only published a few days of the week.[10] This list and activity was later moved to Garraway's coffee house. Public auctions during this period were conducted for the duration that a length of tallow candle could burn; these were known as "by inch of candle" auctions. As stocks grew, with new companies joining to raise capital, the royal court also raised some monies. These are the earliest evidence of organised trading in marketable securities in London. Royal Exchange After Gresham's Royal Exchange building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, it was rebuilt and re-established in 1669. This was a move away from coffee houses and a step towards the modern model of stock exchange.[11] The Royal Exchange housed not only brokers but also merchants and merchandise. This was the birth of a regulated stock market, which had teething problems in the shape of unlicensed brokers. In order to regulate these, Parliament passed an Act in 1697 that levied heavy penalties, both financial and physical, on those brokering without a licence. It also set a fixed number of brokers (at 100), but this was later increased as the size of the trade grew. This limit led to several problems, one of which was that traders began leaving the Royal Exchange, either by their own decision or through expulsion, and started dealing in the streets of London. The street in which they were now dealing was known as 'Exchange Alley', or 'Change Alley'; it was suitably placed close to the Bank of England. Parliament tried to regulate this and ban the unofficial traders from the Change streets. Traders became weary of "bubbles" when companies rose quickly and fell, so they persuaded Parliament to pass a clause preventing "unchartered" companies from forming. After the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), trade at Jonathan's Coffee House boomed again. In 1773, Jonathan, together with 150 other brokers, formed a club and opened a new and more formal "Stock Exchange" in Sweeting's Alley. This now had a set entrance fee, by which traders could enter the stock room and trade securities. It was, however, not an exclusive location for trading, as trading also occurred in the Rotunda of the Bank of England. Fraud was also rife during these times and in order to deter such dealings, it was suggested that users of the stock room pay an increased fee. This was not met well and ultimately, the solution came in the form of annual fees and turning the Exchange into a Subscription room. The Subscription room created in 1801 was the first regulated exchange in London, but the transformation was not welcomed by all parties. On the first day of trading, non-members had to be expelled by a constable. In spite of the disorder, a new and bigger building was planned, at Capel Court. William Hammond laid the first foundation stone for the new building on 18 May. It was finished on 30 December when "The Stock Exchange" was incised on the entrance. First Rule Book In the Exchange's first operating years, on several occasions there was no clear set of regulations or fundamental laws for the Capel Court trading. In February 1812, the General Purpose Committee confirmed a set of recommendations, which later became the foundation of the first codified rule book of the Exchange. Even though the document was not a complex one, topics such as settlement and default were, in fact, quite comprehensive. With its new governmental commandments[12] and increasing trading volume, the Exchange was progressively becoming an accepted part of the financial life in the city. In spite of continuous criticism from newspapers and the public, the government used the Exchange's organised market (and would most likely not have managed without it) to raise the enormous amount of money required for the wars against Napoleon. Foreign and regional exchanges After the war and facing a booming world economy, foreign lending to countries such as Brazil, Peru and Chile was a growing market. Notably, the Foreign Market at the Exchange allowed for merchants and traders to participate, and the Royal Exchange hosted all transactions where foreign parties were involved. The constant increase in overseas business eventually meant that dealing in foreign securities had to be allowed within all of the Exchange's premises. Just as London enjoyed growth through international trade, the rest of Great Britain also benefited from the economic boom. Two other cities, in particular, showed great business development: Liverpool and Manchester. Consequently, in 1836 both the Manchester and Liverpool stock exchanges were opened. Some stock prices sometimes rose by 10%, 20% or even 30% in a week. These were times when stockbroking was considered a real business profession, and such attracted many entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, with booms came busts, and in 1835 the "Spanish panic" hit the markets, followed by a second one two years later. The Exchange before the World Wars By June 1853, both participating members and brokers were taking up so much space that the Exchange was now uncomfortably crowded, and continual expansion plans were taking place. Having already been extended west, east, and northwards, it was then decided the Exchange needed an entire new establishment. Thomas Allason was appointed as the main architect, and in March 1854, the new brick building inspired from the Great Exhibition stood ready. This was a huge improvement in both surroundings and space, with twice the floor space available. By the late 1800s, the telephone, ticker tape, and the telegraph had been invented. Those new technologies led to a revolution in the work of the Exchange. First World War As the financial centre of the world, both the City and the Stock Exchange were hit hard by the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Due to fears that borrowed money was to be called in and that foreign banks would demand their loans or raise interest, prices surged at first. The decision to close the Exchange for improved breathing space and to extend the August Bank Holiday to prohibit a run on banks, was hurried through by the committee and Parliament, respectively. The Stock Exchange ended up being closed from the end of July until the New Year, causing street business to be introduced again, as well as the "challenge system". The Exchange was set to open again on 4 January 1915 under tedious restrictions: transactions were to be in cash only. Due to the limitations and challenges on trading brought by the war, almost a thousand members quit the Exchange between 1914 and 1918. When peace returned in November 1918, the mood on the trading floor was generally cowed. In 1923, the Exchange received its own coat of arms, with the motto Dictum Meum Pactum, My Word is My Bond. Second World War In 1937, officials at the Exchange used their experiences from World War I to draw up plans for how to handle a new war. The main concerns included air raids and the subsequent bombing of the Exchange's perimeters, and one suggestion was a move to Denham, Buckinghamshire. This however never took place. On the first day of September 1939, the Exchange closed its doors "until further notice" and two days later World War II was declared. Unlike in the prior war, the Exchange opened its doors again six days later, on 7 September. As the war escalated into its second year, the concerns for air raids were greater than ever. Eventually, on the night of 29 December 1940, one of the greatest fires in London's history took place. The Exchange's floor was hit by a clutch of incendiary bombs, which were extinguished quickly. Trading on the floor was now drastically low and most was done over the phone to reduce the possibility of injuries. The Exchange was only closed for one more day during wartime, in 1945 due to damage from a V-2 rocket. Nonetheless, trading continued in the house's basement. Post-war After decades of uncertain if not turbulent times, stock market business boomed in the late 1950s. This spurred officials to find new, more suitable accommodation. The work on the new Stock Exchange Tower began in 1967. The Exchange's new 321 feet (98 metres) high building had 26 storeys with council and administration at the top, and middle floors let out to affiliate companies. Queen Elizabeth II opened the building on 8 November 1972; it was a new City landmark, with its 23,000 sq ft (2,100 m2) trading floor. 1973 marked a year of changes for the Stock Exchange. First, two trading prohibitions were abolished. A report from the Monopolies and Mergers Commission recommended the admittance of both women and foreign-born members on the floor. Second, in March the London Stock Exchange formally merged with the eleven British and Irish regional exchanges, including the Scottish Stock Exchange.[13] This expansion led to the creation of a new position of Chief Executive Officer; after an extensive search this post was given to Robert Fell. There were more governance changes in 1991, when the governing Council of the Exchange was replaced by a Board of Directors drawn from the Exchange's executive, customer, and user base; and the trading name became "The London Stock Exchange". FTSE 100 Index (pronounced "Footsie 100") was launched by a partnership of the Financial Times and the Stock Exchange on 3 January 1984. This turned out to be one of the most useful indices of all, and tracked the movements of the 100 leading companies listed on the Exchange. IRA bombing On 20 July 1990, a bomb planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded in the men's toilets behind the visitors' gallery. The area had already been evacuated and nobody was injured.[14] About 30 minutes before the blast at 8:49 a.m., a man who said he was a member of the IRA told Reuters that a bomb had been placed at the exchange and was about to explode. Police officials said that if there had been no warning, the human toll would have been very high.[15] The explosion ripped a hole in the 23-storey building in Threadneedle Street and sent a shower of glass and concrete onto the street.[16] The long-term trend towards electronic trading platforms reduced the Exchange's attraction to visitors, and although the gallery reopened, it was closed permanently in 1992. "Big Bang" The biggest event of the 1980s was the sudden de-regulation of the financial markets in the UK in 1986. The phrase "Big Bang" was coined to describe measures, including abolition of fixed commission charges and of the distinction between stockjobbers and stockbrokers on the London Stock Exchange, as well as the change from an open outcry to electronic, screen-based trading. In 1995, the Exchange launched the Alternative Investment Market, the AIM, to allow growing companies to expand into international markets. Two years later, the Electronic Trading Service (SETS) was launched, bringing greater speed and efficiency to the market. Next, the CREST settlement service was launched. In 2000, the Exchange's shareholders voted to become a public limited company, London Stock Exchange plc. London Stock Exchange also transferred its role as UK Listing Authority to the Financial Services Authority (FSA-UKLA). EDX London, an international equity derivatives business, was created in 2003 in partnership with OM Group. The Exchange also acquired Proquote Limited, a new generation supplier of real-time market data and trading systems. The old Stock Exchange Tower became largely redundant with Big Bang, which deregulated many of the Stock Exchange's activities: computerised systems and dealing rooms replaced face-to-face trading. In 2004, London Stock Exchange moved to a brand-new headquarters in Paternoster Square, close to St Paul's Cathedral. In 2007, the London Stock Exchange merged with Borsa Italiana, creating London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). The Group's headquarters are in Paternoster Square. The Stock Exchange in Paternoster Square was the initial target for the protesters of Occupy London on 15 October 2011. Attempts to occupy the square were thwarted by police.[17] Police sealed off the entrance to the square as it is private property, a High Court injunction having previously been granted against public access to the square.[18] The protesters moved nearby to occupy the space in front of St Paul's Cathedral.[19] The protests were part of the global Occupy movement. On 25 April 2019, the final day of the Extinction Rebellion disruption in London, 13 activists glued themselves together in a chain, blocking the entrances of the Stock Exchange.[20][21] The protesters were all later arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.[21] Extinction Rebellion had said its protesters would target the financial industry "and the corrosive impacts of the ... sector on the world we live in" and activists also blocked entrances to HM Treasury and the Goldman Sachs office on Fleet Street.[22] Activities Primary markets There are two main markets on which companies trade on the LSE: the main market and the alternative investment market. Main Market The main market is home to over 1,300 large companies from 60 countries.[23] The FTSE 100 Index ("footsie") is the main share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the Main Market.[24] Alternative Investment Market The Alternative Investment Market is LSE's international market for smaller companies. A wide range of businesses including early-stage, venture capital-backed, as well as more-established companies join AIM seeking access to growth capital. The AIM is classified as a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) under the 2004 MiFID directive, and as such it is a flexible market with a simpler admission process for companies wanting to be publicly listed.[25] Secondary markets The securities available for trading on London Stock Exchange:[26] Common stock Bonds, including retail bonds Derivatives Exchange-traded funds Debt securities Exchange-traded commodities Structured products Covered warrants Global depositary receipts (GDRs) Gilt-edged securities Post trade Through the Exchange's Italian arm, Borsa Italiana, the London Stock Exchange Group as a whole offers clearing and settlement services for trades through CC&G (Cassa di Compensazione e Garanzia) and Monte Titoli.[27][28] is the Groups Central Counterparty (CCP) and covers multiple asset classes throughout the Italian equity, derivatives and bond markets. CC&G also clears Turquoise derivatives. Monte Titoli (MT) is the pre-settlement, settlement, custody and asset services provider of the Group. MT operates both on-exchange and OTC trades with over 400 banks and brokers. Technology London Stock Exchange's trading platform is its own Linux-based edition named Millennium Exchange.[29] Their previous trading platform TradElect was based on Microsoft's .NET Framework, and was developed by Microsoft and Accenture. For Microsoft, LSE was a good combination of a highly visible exchange and yet a relatively modest IT problem.[30] Despite TradElect only being in use for about two years,[31] after suffering multiple periods of extended downtime and unreliability[32][33] the LSE announced in 2009 that it was planning to switch to Linux in 2010.[34][35] The main market migration to MillenniumIT technology was successfully completed in February 2011.[36] LSEG provides high-performance technology, including trading, market surveillance and post-trade systems, for over 40 organisations and exchanges, including the Group's own markets. Additional services include network connectivity, hosting and quality assurance testing. MillenniumIT, GATElab and Exactpro are among the Group's technology companies.[37] The LSE facilitates stock listings in a currency other than its "home currency". Most stocks are quoted in GBP but some are quoted in EUR while others are quoted in USD. Mergers and acquisitions On 3 May 2000, it was announced that the LSE would merge with the Deutsche Börse; however this fell through.[38] On 23 June 2007, the London Stock Exchange announced that it had agreed on the terms of a recommended offer to the shareholders of the Borsa Italiana S.p.A. The merger of the two companies created a leading diversified exchange group in Europe. The combined group was named the London Stock Exchange Group, but still remained two separate legal and regulatory entities. One of the long-term strategies of the joint company is to expand Borsa Italiana's efficient clearing services to other European markets. In 2007, after Borsa Italiana announced that it was exercising its call option to acquire full control of MBE Holdings; thus the combined Group would now control Mercato dei Titoli di Stato, or MTS. This merger of Borsa Italiana and MTS with LSE's existing bond-listing business enhanced the range of covered European fixed income markets. London Stock Exchange Group acquired Turquoise (TQ), a Pan-European MTF, in 2009.[39] On 9 October 2020, London Stock Exchange agreed to sell the Borsa Italiana (including Borsa's bond trading platform MTS) to Euronext for €4.3 billion (£3.9 billion) in cash.[40] Euronext completed the acquisition of the Borsa Italiana Group on 29 April 2021 for a final price of €4,444 million.[41] On 12 Dec 2022, Microsoft bought a nearly 4% stake in LSE (London Stock Exchange Group) as part of a ten-year cloud deal.[42] NASDAQ bids In December 2005, London Stock Exchange rejected a £1.6 billion takeover offer from Macquarie Bank. London Stock Exchange described the offer as "derisory", a sentiment echoed by shareholders in the Exchange. Shortly after Macquarie withdrew its offer, the LSE received an unsolicited approach from NASDAQ valuing the company at £2.4 billion. This too it rejected. NASDAQ later pulled its bid, and less than two weeks later on 11 April 2006, struck a deal with LSE's largest shareholder, Ameriprise Financial's Threadneedle Asset Management unit, to acquire all of that firm's stake, consisting of 35.4 million shares, at £11.75 per share.[43] NASDAQ also purchased 2.69 million additional shares, resulting in a total stake of 15%. While the seller of those shares was undisclosed, it occurred simultaneously with a sale by Scottish Widows of 2.69 million shares.[44] The move was seen as an effort to force LSE to the negotiating table, as well as to limit the Exchange's strategic flexibility.[45] Subsequent purchases increased NASDAQ's stake to 25.1%, holding off competing bids for several months.[46][47][48] United Kingdom financial rules required that NASDAQ wait for a period of time before renewing its effort. On 20 November 2006, within a month or two of the expiration of this period, NASDAQ increased its stake to 28.75% and launched a hostile offer at the minimum permitted bid of £12.43 per share, which was the highest NASDAQ had paid on the open market for its existing shares.[49] The LSE immediately rejected this bid, stating that it "substantially undervalues" the company.[50] NASDAQ revised its offer (characterized as an "unsolicited" bid, rather than a "hostile takeover attempt") on 12 December 2006, indicating that it would be able to complete the deal with 50% (plus one share) of LSE's stock, rather than the 90% it had been seeking. The U.S. exchange did not, however, raise its bid. Many hedge funds had accumulated large positions within the LSE, and many managers of those funds, as well as Furse, indicated that the bid was still not satisfactory. NASDAQ's bid was made more difficult because it had described its offer as "final", which, under British bidding rules, restricted their ability to raise its offer except under certain circumstances. In the end, NASDAQ's offer was roundly rejected by LSE shareholders. Having received acceptances of only 0.41% of rest of the register by the deadline on 10 February 2007, Nasdaq's offer duly lapsed.[51] On 20 August 2007, NASDAQ announced that it was abandoning its plan to take over the LSE and subsequently look for options to divest its 31% (61.3 million shares) shareholding in the company in light of its failed takeover attempt.[52] In September 2007, NASDAQ agreed to sell the majority of its shares to Borse Dubai, leaving the United Arab Emirates-based exchange with 28% of the LSE.[53] Proposed merger with TMX Group On 9 February 2011, London Stock Exchange Group announced it had agreed to merge with the Toronto-based TMX Group, the owners of the Toronto Stock Exchange, creating a combined entity with a market capitalization of listed companies equal to £3.7 trillion.[54] Xavier Rolet, CEO of the LSE Group at the time, would have headed the new enlarged company, while TMX Chief Executive Thomas Kloet would have become the new firm president. London Stock Exchange Group however announced it was terminating the merger with TMX on 29 June 2011 citing that "LSEG and TMX Group believe that the merger is highly unlikely to achieve the required two-thirds majority approval at the TMX Group shareholder meeting".[55] Even though LSEG obtained the necessary support from its shareholders, it failed to obtain the required support from TMX's shareholders. Opening times Normal trading sessions on the main orderbook (SETS) are from 08:00 to 16:30 local time every day of the week except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays declared by the exchange in advance. The detailed schedule is as follows: Trade reporting 07:15–07:50 Opening auction 07:50–08:00 Continuous trading 08:00–16:30 Closing auction 16:30–16:35 Order maintenance 16:35–17:00 Trade reporting only 17:00–17:15 [56] Auction Periods (SETQx) SETSqx (Stock Exchange Electronic Trading Service – quotes and crosses) is a trading service for securities less liquid than those traded on SETS. The auction uncrossings are scheduled to take place at 8:00, 9:00, 11:00, 14:00, and 16:35. Observed holidays are New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday, Summer Bank Holiday, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. If New Year's Day, Christmas Day, and/or Boxing Day falls on a weekend, the following working day is observed as a holiday. Arms Coat of arms of AstraZeneca Adopted 10 September 1923 Crest On a wreath of the colours, In front of a tower proper a lion passant guardant Or. Escutcheon Argent, a cross and in the first quarter a sword erect gules; on a chief of the second a balance Or. Supporters On either side a griffin sable, gorged with a mural crown Or. Motto DICTUM MEUM PACTUM[57] See also List of stock exchanges List of stock exchanges in the Commonwealth of Nations List of stock exchanges in the United Kingdom, the British Crown Dependencies and United Kingdom Overseas Territories Stock Exchange forgery 1872–73 TAURUS (share settlement) References ↑ "Market Statistics - Focus (April 2023) The World Federation of Exchanges". World Federation of Exchanges. https://focus.world-exchanges.org/issue/april-2023/market-statistics.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange (LSE)". https://www.tradinghours.com/markets/lse.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange (LSE)". https://www.tradinghours.com/markets/lse.  ↑ "History of London Stock Exchange Group". http://www.lseg.com/about-london-stock-exchange-group/history.  ↑ Foy, Simon (2023-10-19). "London Stock Exchange overtakes Paris to regain crown as Europe’s biggest market" (in en-GB). The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/10/19/london-stock-exchange-overtakes-paris-europe-market/.  ↑ David Summers (3 March 2022). "Ownership of UK quoted shares: 2020". Office for National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/investmentspensionsandtrusts/bulletins/ownershipofukquotedshares/2020.  ↑ Nisha Arora (11 February 2021). "Financial Lives 2020 survey: the impact of coronavirus". Financial Conduct Authority. https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research/financial-lives-survey-2020.pdf.  ↑ "Royal Exchange, London". http://www.walklondon.com/london-attractions/royal-exchange.htm.  ↑ "Heritage | The Royal Exchange" (in en-US). http://www.theroyalexchange.co.uk/heritage/.  ↑ "St Paul's Institute: A Valuable Exchange at the Royal Exchange". http://www.stpaulsinstitute.org.uk/dialogue/tanya-barman/opinion/2012/jun/21/a-valuable-exchange-at-the-royal-exchange.  ↑ "Gresham Grasshopper, Royal Exchange, London – Insect Sculptures on Waymarking.com" (in en). http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6R6Y_Gresham_Grasshopper_Royal_Exchange_London.  ↑ Ranald Michie (1999). The London Stock Exchange: A History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191529344. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCaQDwAAQBAJ&q=London%20Stock%20Exchange%20First%20Rule%20Book&pg=PA37. Retrieved 7 June 2019.  ↑ "Calls for Scotland to have its own stock exchange". 4 August 2010. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/calls-for-scotland-to-have-its-own-stock-exchange-1.1045699.  ↑ "On This Day: 20 July 1990: IRA bombs Stock Exchange". BBC News. 20 July 1990. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/20/newsid_2515000/2515667.stm.  ↑ FINEMAN, MARK (21 July 1990). "Bomb Blast Rips London's Stock Exchange; No Injuries Reported : Terrorism: Apparent IRA warning allows time to evacuate the building and surrounding area". Los Angeles Times. https://articles.latimes.com/1990-07-21/news/mn-170_1_london-stock-exchange.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange Is Rocked by a Bombing". The New York Times. 21 July 1990. https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/21/world/london-stock-exchange-is-rocked-by-a-bombing.html.  ↑ Davies, Caroline (16 October 2011). "Occupy London protest continues into second day". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/oct/16/occupy-london-protest-second-day.  ↑ "Stock exchange occupation blocked". Media Wales (Wales). 15 October 2011. http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/2011/10/15/stock-exchange-occupation-blocked-91466-29601928/.  ↑ "Occupy London: Protest continues for second day". BBC News (London). 16 October 2011. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15324901.  ↑ Hope, Kate (25 April 2019). "Extinction Rebellion protesters glue themselves to London Stock Exchange". https://www.euronews.com/2019/04/25/extinction-rebellion-protesters-glue-themselves-to-london-stock-exchange.  ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Extinction Rebellion activists end London protests". 25 April 2019. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-48058177.  ↑ "Extinction Rebellion: London Stock Exchange blocked by climate activists". 25 April 2019. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-48049040.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange". https://www.londonstockexchange.com/raise-finance/equity/main-market?tab=insights-and-reports&lang=en.  ↑ Lessambo, Felix I. (2021). International Finance: New Players and Global Markets. Springer. ISBN 9783030692322. https://books.google.com/books?id=6eAhEAAAQBAJ&q=The%20main%20market%20is%20home%20to%20over%201%2C300%20large%20companies%20from%2060%20different%20countries.%20London%20Stock%20Exchange&pg=PA86. Retrieved 18 April 2021.  ↑ "AIM". Thomson Reuters. https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/8-107-6392?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true.  ↑ "SECURITY TYPES". London Stock Exchange. https://www.londonstockexchange.com/traders-and-brokers/security-types/security-types.htm.  ↑ CC&G - London Stock Exchange Group. Retrieved 26 August 2015. ↑ Monte Titoli London Stock Exchange Group. Retrieved 26 August 2015. ↑ Leo King (14 February 2011). "London Stock Exchange finished the switch to Linux". Computerworld UK. http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/open-source/3260727/london-stock-exchange-in-historic-linux-go-live/.  ↑ Ajay Shah (4 July 2009). "Microsoft inside the exchange". Blogspot. http://ajayshahblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/microsoft-inside-exchange.html.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange to replace Tradelect with Millennium". London: ComputerWeekly.com. 4 September 2009. http://www.computerweekly.com/news/1280090627/London-Stock-Exchange-to-replace-Tradelect-with-Millennium.  ↑ Rowena Mason (10 September 2008). "Seven-hour LSE blackout caused by double glitch". The Daily Telegraph (London). https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/4676369/Seven-hour-LSE-blackout-caused-by-double-glitch.html.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange trading hit by technical glitch". BBC News. 26 November 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8380607.stm.  ↑ David M. Williams (8 October 2009). "London Stock Exchange gets the facts and dumps Windows for Linux". ITWire. http://www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/the-linux-distillery/28359-london-stock-exchange-gets-the-facts-and-dumps-windows-for-linux.  ↑ "London Stock Exchange Rejects .NET For Open Source". Slashdot. 6 October 2009. http://linux.slashdot.org/story/09/10/06/1742203/London-Stock-Exchange-Rejects-NET-For-Open-Source.  ↑ Stafford, Philip (14 February 2011). "LSE moves to faster UK trading system". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/8a87cf48-383e-11e0-8257-00144feabdc0.html.  ↑ "Investor Relations". http://www.lseg.com/investor-relations.  ↑ "2000: Leading stock exchanges plan merger". 3 May 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/3/newsid_2481000/2481359.stm.  ↑ "LSE confirms Turquoise acquisition talks". https://www.thetradenews.com/lse-confirms-turquoise-acquisition-talks/.  ↑ "LSE agrees to sell Borsa Italiana to Euronext for €4.3 billion". 9 October 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-lse-borsa-italiana-m-a-idUKKBN26U0H7.  ↑ "Euronext today completes the acquisition of the Borsa Italiana Group and publishes Q1 2021 results". https://www.euronext.com/en/about/media/euronext-press-releases/acquisition-borsa-italiana-group-and-q1-2021-results.  ↑ "Microsoft buys near 4% stake in London Stock Exchange Group as part of 10-year cloud deal". https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/12/microsoft-buys-near-4percent-stake-in-london-stock-exchange-and-launches-10-year-partnership.html.  ↑ Patrick, M.; Lucchetti, A.; Reilly, D.; Taylor, E. (11 April 2006). "Nasdaq Acquires 15% of LSE". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114477409808123029.  ↑ "Scottish Widows says has sold 2.7 mln LSE shares at 1,175 pence". Forbes. 12 April 2006. https://www.forbes.com/finance/feeds/afx/2006/04/12/afx2665242.html.  ↑ Ortega, E. (11 April 2006). "Nasdaq Buys 15 Percent Stake in LSE for $782 Million". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aY106PolhKUQ&refer=us.  ↑ MacDonald, A.; Lucchetti, A. (4 May 2006). "In LSE Stakes, Nasdaq Advances, Euronext Falls". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114670228362743269.  ↑ Lucchetti, A.; MacDonald, A. (11 May 2006). "Nasdaq Lifts Its LSE Stake to 24%". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114729205685149301.  ↑ Goldsmith, B.; Elliott, M. (19 May 2006). "Nasdaq raises LSE stake, making rival bids harder". Reuters. http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=bankingFinancial&storyID=nL1923903. [yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}] ↑ Lucchetti, A.; MacDonald, A. (20 November 2006). "Nasdaq Makes Bid to Buy Rest of London Stock Exchange". The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB116400769286328180.  ↑ "LSE rejects £2.7bn Nasdaq offer". BBC News. 20 November 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6164376.stm.  ↑ "Nasdaq fails in takeover bid for London Stock Exchange". International Herald Tribune. 11 February 2007. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/business/worldbusiness/11iht-nasdaq.4549290.html.  ↑ "Sale Update". reuters.co.uk. 20 August 2007. http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=mergersNews&storyID=2007-08-20T091233Z_01_L2025258_RTRIDST_0_LSE-NASDAQ-SALE-UPDATE-1.XML.  ↑ Magnusson, N.; McSheehy, W. (20 September 2007). "Dubai to Buy Stakes in Nasdaq, LSE; Strikes OMX Deal". bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqzGAS7oAezg&refer=home.  ↑ "LSE agrees merger with TMX of Canada". BBC News. 9 February 2011. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12400785.  ↑ "Announcement re LSEG/TMX Group merger – London Stock Exchange". Londonstockexchangegroup.com. http://www.londonstockexchangegroup.com/newsroom/2011pressreleases/lseannouncementrelsegtmxgroupmerger.htm.  ↑ "SETSqx and SEAQ". https://www.lseg.com/areas-expertise/our-markets/london-stock-exchange/equities-markets/trading-services/domestic-trading-services/setsqx.  ↑ "'London Stock Exchange'". https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=London_Stock_Exchange.  Further reading Michie, R. C. (1999). The London Stock Exchange: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-829508-1.  External links Documents and clippings about AstraZeneca in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW [ ⚑ ] 51°30′54.25″N 0°5′56.77″W / 51.5150694°N 0.0991028°W / 51.5150694; -0.0991028 0.00 (0 votes) Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London Stock Exchange. Read more Nasdaq Stockholm: AZN NASDAQ: AZN (ADR) FTSE 100 component OMX Stockholm 30 component Nasdaq-100 component
ISIN	[https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Toollabs:isin/&language=en&isin=GB0009895292 GB0009895292]
Industry	Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
Predecessors	Astra AB Zeneca Group plc
Founded	6 April 1999; 26 years ago (1999-04-06)
Headquarters	Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge , England
Area served	Global
Key people	Michel Demaré (chairman) Sir Pascal Soriot (CEO)
Products	Pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
Revenue	US$54.073 billion (2024)[1]
Operating income	US$10.003 billion (2024)[1]
Net income	US$7.041 billion (2024)[1]
Total assets	US$104.035 billion (2024)[1]
Total equity	US$40.871 billion (2024)[1]
Number of employees	89,900 (2025)[2]
Subsidiaries	Alexion Pharmaceuticals MedImmune
Website	astrazeneca.com

AstraZeneca plc (/ˌæstrəˈzɛnəkə/) (AZ) is a British-Swedish^[3][4][5] multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, UK. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas including oncology, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infection, neuroscience, respiratory, and inflammation.

The company was founded in 1999 through the merger of the Swedish Astra AB and the British Zeneca Group^[6][7] (itself formed by the demerger of the pharmaceutical operations of Imperial Chemical Industries in 1993). Its portfolio includes primary and speciality care, coverage for rare diseases, and a robust global presence across various regions.^[8] Since the merger it has been among the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and has made numerous corporate acquisitions, including Cambridge Antibody Technology (in 2006), MedImmune (in 2007), Spirogen (in 2013) and Definiens (by MedImmune in 2014). It has its research and development concentrated in three strategic centres: Cambridge, UK; Gothenburg, Sweden;^[9][10] and Gaithersburg, Maryland, US.^[11]

AstraZeneca traces its earliest corporate history to 1913, when Astra AB was formed by a large group of doctors and apothecaries in Södertälje. Throughout the twentieth century, it grew into the largest pharmaceutical company in Sweden. Its British counterpart, Zeneca PLC was formed in 1993 when ICI divested its pharmaceuticals businesses; Astra AB and Zeneca PLC merged six years later, with the chosen headquarters in the United Kingdom.^[12]

AstraZeneca's primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index; it also has a secondary listing on Nasdaq Stockholm. It is also listed on the American Nasdaq and is a Nasdaq-100 company. AstraZeneca has one of the highest market capitalisations of pharmaceutical companies worldwide.^[13]

Astra AB was founded in 1913 in Södertälje, Sweden, by 400 doctors and apothecaries.^[14] In 1993 the British chemicals company ICI (established from four British chemical companies) demerged its pharmaceuticals businesses and its agrochemicals and specialities businesses, to form Zeneca Group PLC.^[15] Finally, in 1999 Astra and Zeneca Group merged to form AstraZeneca plc, with its headquarters in London.^[15] In 1999, AstraZeneca identified a new location for the company's US base, the "Fairfax-plus" site in North Wilmington, Delaware.^[16]

In September 2002, its drug Iressa (gefitinib) was approved in Japan as monotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer.^[17] On 3 January 2004 Dr Robert Nolan, a former director of AstraZeneca, formed the management team of ZI Medical.^[18]

In December 2005, the company acquired KuDOS Pharmaceuticals, a UK biotech company, for £120 million.^[19] and entered into an anti-cancer collaboration agreement with Astex.^[20] That same year, the firm also became a Diamond Member of the Pennsylvania Bio commerce organisation.^[21]

In May 2006, following a collaborative relationship begun in 2004, AstraZeneca acquired Cambridge Antibody Technology for £702 million.^[22]

In February 2007, AstraZeneca agreed to buy Arrow Therapeutics, a company focused on the discovery and development of anti-viral therapies, for US$150 million.^[23] AstraZeneca's pipeline, and "patent cliff", was the subject of much speculation in April 2007 leading to pipeline-boosting collaboration and acquisition activities.^[24] A few days later AstraZeneca acquired US company MedImmune for about US$15.2 billion to gain flu vaccines and an anti-viral treatment for infants;^[25] AstraZeneca subsequently consolidated all of its biologics operations into a dedicated biologics division called MedImmune.^[26]

In December 2009, AstraZeneca acquired Novexel Corp, an antibiotics discovery company formed in 2004 as a spin-off of the Sanofi-Aventis anti-infectives division. Astra acquired the experimental antibiotic NXL-104 (CEF104) (CAZ-AVI) through this acquisition.^[27][28]

In December 2011, AstraZeneca acquired Guangdong BeiKang Pharmaceutical Company, a Chinese generics business.^[29]

In February 2012, AstraZeneca and Amgen announced a collaboration on treatments for inflammatory diseases.^[30] Then in April 2012, AstraZeneca acquired Ardea Biosciences, another biotechnology company, for $1.26 billion.^[31] In June 2012, AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb announced a two-stage deal for the joint acquisition of the biotechnology company Amylin Pharmaceuticals.^[32][33] It was agreed that Bristol Myers Squibb would acquire Amylin for $5.3 billion in cash and the assumption of $1.7 billion in debt, with AstraZeneca then paying $3.4 billion in cash to Bristol Myers Squibb, and Amylin being folded into an existing diabetes joint venture between AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb.^[33]

In March 2013, AstraZeneca announced plans for a major corporate restructuring, including the closure of its research and development activities at Alderley Park in Cheshire and Loughborough in the UK and at Lund in Sweden, investment of $500 million in the construction of a new research and development facility in Cambridge and the concentration of R&D in three locations: Cambridge, Gaithersburg, Maryland (location of MedImmune, where it will work on biotech drugs), and Gothenburg in Sweden,^[9][10] for research on traditional chemical drugs.^[11] AstraZeneca also announced that it would move its corporate headquarters from London to Cambridge in 2016.^[34][35] That announcement included the announcement that it would cut 1,600 jobs; three days later it announced it would cut an additional 2,300 jobs.^[36][37] It also announced that it would focus on three therapeutic areas: Respiratory Inflammation & Autoimmunity, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Disease, and Oncology.^[38] In October 2013, AstraZeneca announced it would acquire biotech oncology company Spirogen for around US$440 million.^[39]

On 19 May 2014, AstraZeneca rejected a "final offer" from Pfizer of £55 per share, which valued the company at £69.4 billion (US$117 billion). The companies had been meeting since January 2014. If the takeover had proceeded, Pfizer would have become the world's biggest drug maker. The transaction would also have been the biggest foreign takeover of a British company. Many in Britain, including politicians and scientists, had opposed the deal.^[40] In July 2014 the company entered into a deal with Almirall to acquire its subsidiary Almirall Sofotec and its lung treatments including the COPD drug, Eklira. The US$2.1 billion deal included an allocation of US$1.2 billion for development in the respiratory franchise, one of AstraZeneca's three target therapeutic areas announced the year before. In August 2014 the company announced it had entered into a three-year collaboration with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma on diabetic nephropathy.^[41]

In September 2014, the company joined forces with Eli Lilly in developing and commercialising its candidate BACE inhibitor – AZD3292 – used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease; this deal was projected to yield up to US$500 million AstraZeneca.^[42] In November 2014, the firm's biologics R&D operation, MedImmune, agreed to acquire Definiens for more than US$150 million. It also began a Phase I/II trial collaboration with Pharmacyclics and Janssen Biotech investigating combination treatments.^[43] Also in November, AstraZeneca agreed to sell its lipodystrophy treatment business to Aegerion Pharmaceuticals for more than US$325 million.^[44] In December, the company received accelerated FDA approval for Olaparib in the treatment of women with advanced ovarian cancer who have a BRCA genetic mutation. A major criterion governing the drugs approval was, on average, its ability to shrink tumours in patients for 7.9 months.^[45]

In February 2015, AstraZeneca announced it would acquire the US and Canadian rights to Actavis's branded respiratory drug business for an initial sum of US$600 million.^[46] That same month, the company announced a partnership with Orca Pharmaceuticals to develop retinoic acid-related orphan nuclear receptor gamma inhibitors for use in the treatment of several autoimmune diseases, which could generate up to US$122.5 million for Orca.^[47] The company also announced its plan to spend US$40 million creating a new subsidiary focused on small molecule anti-infectives – primarily in the research of the gyrase inhibitor, AZD0914, which was then in Phase II testing for the treatment of gonorrhea.^[48] The company underwrote twenty out of thirty-two seats of a new Cambridge– Gothenburg service by Sun-Air of Scandinavia.^[49]

In March, the company stated that it would co-commercialise naloxegol along with Daiichi Sankyo in a deal worth up to US$825 million.^[50] In April, the firm announced a number of collaborations worth an estimated US$1.8 billion; first, to develop and commercialise MEDI4736, with Celgene, for use against non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndromes, and multiple myeloma with AstraZeneca receiving US$450 million. The second of two deals is an agreement to study a combination treatment of MEDI4736 and Innate Pharma's Phase II anti-NKG2A antibody IPH2201 for up to US$1.275 billion. The company's MedImmune arm also launched collaborative clinical trials with Juno Therapeutics, investigating combination treatments for cancer;^[51] these trials involved combinations of MEDI4736 and one of Juno Therapeutics' CD19 directed chimeric antigen receptor T-cell candidates.^[52] In June, the company revealed a partnership with Eolas Therapeutics on the Eolas Orexin-1 Receptor Antagonist (EORA) program for smoking cessation and other treatments.^[53] In July, AstraZeneca announced the sale of its rights to Entocort (budesonide) to Tillotts Pharma for $215 million.^[54] In July, Genzyme announced it would acquire the rare cancer drug Caprelsa (vandetanib) from AstraZeneca for up to US$300 million.^[55]

In August, the company announced it had acquired the global rights to develop and commercialise Heptares Therapeutics' drug candidate HTL-1071, which focuses on blocking the adenosine A2A receptor, in a deal worth up to US$510 million.^[56] That same month, the company's MedImmune subsidiary acquired exclusive rights to Inovio Pharmaceuticals' INO-3112 immunotherapy under an agreement which could net more than US$727.5 million for Inovio. INO-3112 targets Human papillomavirus types 16 and 18.^[57] In September, Valeant licensed Brodalumab from the company for up to US$445 million.^[58][59] On 6 November, it was reported that AstraZeneca had acquired ZS Pharma for US$2.7 billion.^[60] In December, the company announced its intention to acquire the respiratory portfolio of Takeda Pharmaceutical – namely Alvesco and Omnaris – for US$575 million^[61] A day later, the company announced it had taken a 55% majority stake in Acerta for US$4 billion; the transaction included commercial rights to Acerta's irreversible oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, acalabrutinib (ACP-196), which under development at that time.^[62] In 2015, AstraZenica was the eighth-largest drug company in the world based on sales revenue.^[63]

In July 2017, the company's CEO Pascal Soriot said that Brexit would not affect its commitment to its current plans in the United Kingdom. However, it had slowed decision making for new investment projects waiting for a post-Brexit regulatory regime to settle down.^[64] Two months later, the firm's chairman Leif Johansson planned in taking the "first steps" in moving its research and manufacturing operations away from the United Kingdom, if there is a hard Brexit.^[65] Soon after, executive vice president Pam Cheng stated that AstraZeneca had ignited startup of duplicate QA testing facility in Sweden and has initiated hiring in Sweden.^[66]

In 2017, it was the eleventh largest drug company in the world based on sales and ranked seventh based on R&D investment.^[67]

In February 2018, AstraZeneca announced it was spinning off six early-stage experimental drugs into a new biotechnology company, known as Viela Bio, valued at US$250 million.^[68]

On 6 December 2018, AstraZeneca purchased nearly 8% of the American pharmaceutical business, Moderna.^[69]

In March 2019, AstraZeneca announced it will pay up to US$6.9 billion to work with Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd on an experimental treatment for breast cancer. AstraZeneca plans to use some of the proceeds of a US$3.5 billion share issue to fund the deal. The deal on the drug known as trastuzumab deruxtecan sent shares in Japan's Daiichi soaring 16%.^[70]

In September 2019, the company announced that it would cease drug production at its German headquarters in Wedel, leading to the loss of 175 jobs by the end of 2021.^[71][72]

In October 2019, AstraZeneca announced it would sell the global commercial rights for its drug to treat acid reflux to German pharmaceutical company Cheplapharm Arzneimittel GmbH for as much as US$276 million.^[73][74]

In February 2020, AstraZeneca agreed to sublicense its global rights (except Europe, Canada and Israel) to the drug Movantik, to Redhill Biopharma.^[75]

In June 2020, AstraZeneca made a preliminary approach to Gilead Sciences about a potential merger, worth almost US$240 billion.^[76][77] However, these plans were subsequently dropped because it would have distracted the company from its own pipeline and ongoing COVID-19 vaccine efforts.^[78]

In July 2020, the business entered into its second collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo, centred around the development of DS-1062, an antibody drug conjugate. The deal could potentially be worth up to US$6 billion for Daiichi.^[79]

In September 2020, AstraZeneca acquired the preclinical oral PCSK9 inhibitor program from Dogma Therapeutics.^[80]

On 27 December 2020, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said that they have “figured out the winning formula” with their two-dose system with the Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine.^[81] Three days later, the United Kingdom approved the emergency use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.^[82][83][84]

In July 2021, AstraZeneca acquired Alexion Pharmaceuticals.^[85][86] In October 2021, the company, through Alexion, acquired Caelum Biosciences and its monoclonal treatment (CAEL-101) for light chain (AL) amyloidosis for up to $500 million.^[87][88]

In July 2022, the company announced it would acquire TeneoTwo for up to $1.3 billion, increasing its blood cancer drug offering.^[89] In October 2022, it was announced that it would acquire LogicBio Therapeutics, which was active in clinical-stage genomic medicine.^[90][91]

In November 2022, it was announced AstraZeneca had acquired the Amsterdam-headquartered clinical-stage biotechnology company, Neogene Therapeutics.^[92]

In January, AstraZeneca announced it would acquire CinCor Pharma for $1.8 billion.^[93]

In November 2023, AstraZeneca launched a new global health tech business, Evinova, that focused on provide global services to CROs and pharma companies to design, run and monitor clinical trials.^[94]

In December 2023, AstraZeneca announced that it would acquire an RSV vaccine developer, Icosavax for $1.1 billion.^[95] Later that month, AstraZeneca agreed to acquire clinical-stage biopharmaceutical developer of cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, Gracell Biotechnologies, in a deal valued at up to $1.2 billion.^[96] Both the acquisitions were completed in February 2024.^[97][98]

In March 2024, AstraZeneca announced it would acquire Amolyt Pharma in exchange for $1.05 billion.^[99] That same month, the firm also announced the acquisition of Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc for $2 billion in cash.^[100]

In July 2024, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) blocked the National Health Service (NHS) from providing Enhertu, an innovative treatment for advanced HER2-low breast cancer, due to AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo not offering a low enough price. Nice's decision, the first rejection of a breast cancer treatment in six years, highlighted the financial challenges of funding complex medicines, with Enhertu costing £117,857 per treatment course. Despite approval by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, Nice's non-recommendation meant the drug could only be available privately or under separate funding in Scotland. Clinical trials showed Enhertu extended patients' lives by five months compared to chemotherapy, but Nice and the companies could not agree on a new price.^[101]

In February 2024, the chief executive faced criticism from corporate governance experts and AstraZeneca investors regarding his excessive pay.^[102]

In December 2024, the company announced the appointment of Rene Haas and Birgit Conix to its board as non-executive directors.^[103] Both appointments will be effective from January 2025 and February 2025 respectively.^[103]

In January 2025, the company announced the withdrawal of plans to expand its vaccine manufacturing site in Liverpool, England.^[104] In March 2025, the company told the UK Business and Trade Select Committee that the government failed to make a proposed £75 million grant by August 2025, saying "When the offer emerged in October of support to the tune of £75 million, that didn’t then support the revised business case with the new timelines sufficiently.".^[104]

In March 2025, AstraZeneca announced the acquisition of Belgian biotech company EsoBiotec for up to $1 billion to enhance its cancer treatment capabilities through EsoBiotec's in vivo cell therapy platform.^[105]

In July 2025, AstraZeneca announced plans to invest $50 billion in the United States by 2030.^[106]

The following is an illustration of the company's major mergers and acquisitions and historical predecessors:^[107]

AstraZeneca develops, manufactures and sells pharmaceutical and biotechnology products to treat disorders in the oncology, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infection, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation areas.^[111]

AstraZeneca has its corporate headquarters in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and its main research and development (R&D) centres are in Cambridge (UK), Gaithersburg (Maryland, US), Mölndal in Gothenburg (Sweden), and Warsaw (Poland).^[112] In 2025 the company opened a new cell therapy manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland.^[113]

AstraZeneca's global headquarters are located in the Cambridge Biomedical Campus adjacent to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, England. The facility, known as the Discovery Centre, was designed by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron^[114] and officially opened by Prince Charles on the 23 November 2021.^[115] The building is designed to accommodate over 2,200 scientists across 16 laboratories covering approximately 19,000 square metres (200,000 sq ft). It was built at a cost of approximately £1 billion.^[116]

In September 2025, the Discovery Centre was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize.^[117]

In 2015, AstraZeneca arranged for the establishment of a direct air route between Cambridge and Gothenburg, which began operation on 2 March 2015.^[118] The company reserved 20 of the 32 seats on each flight, with the remaining seats available to the public, which was operated SUN-AIR for British Airways.^[119] The service connects AstraZeneca’s global headquarters in Cambridge with its research facility in Gothenburg.^[120] The service operated four days per week and was intended to support collaboration between staff in the two locations, allowing same-day travel for meetings. The route ended as a scheduled public service in 2016 due to insufficient demand,^[121] but these flights continue for AstraZeneca employees as of 2024.^[122]

In April 2015, AstraZeneca's drug tremelimumab was approved as an orphan drug for the treatment of mesothelioma in the United States.^[123] In February 2016, AstraZeneca announced that a clinical trial of tremelimumab as a treatment for mesothelioma failed to meet its primary endpoint.^[124]

As of 2008, David Brennan was paid US$1,574,144 for his role as chief executive officer.^[125]

On 26 April 2012, it was announced that Brennan was to retire in early June of that year.^[126] In August 2012, Pascal Soriot was named CEO of AstraZeneca.^[127]

It was also announced that Leif Johansson would succeed Louis Schweitzer as non-executive chairman on 1 June 2012, three months earlier than previously announced, and would become Chairman of the Nomination and Governance Committee after the 2012 Annual General Meeting.^[126]

The company's non-executive Board directors are Philip Broadley, Euan Ashley, Michel Demaré, Deborah DiSanzo, Diana Layfield, Sheri McCoy, Tony Mok, Nazneen Rahman, Andreas Rummelt, and Marcus Wallenberg.^[128]

AstraZeneca is a member of the Personalized Medicine Coalition, a medical research advocacy group that lobbies on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry.^[129]

In April 2010, AstraZeneca settled a qui tam lawsuit brought by Stefan P. Kruszewski for US$520 million to settle allegations that the company defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, and other government-funded health care programs in connection with its marketing and promotional practices for the blockbuster atypical antipsychotic, Seroquel. According to the settlement agreement, AstraZeneca targeted its illegal marketing of the anti-psychotic Seroquel towards doctors who do not typically treat schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, such as physicians who treat the elderly, primary care physicians, pediatric and adolescent physicians, and in long-term care facilities and prisons.^[130]

In March 2011, AstraZeneca settled a lawsuit in the United States totalling US$68.5 million to be divided up to 38 states.^[131]

The company's most commercially successful medication is esomeprazole (Nexium). The primary uses are treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, treatment and maintenance of erosive esophagitis, treatment of duodenal ulcers caused by Helicobacter pylori, prevention of gastric ulcers in those on chronic NSAID therapy, and treatment of gastrointestinal ulcers associated with Crohn's disease. When it is manufactured the result is a mixture of two mirror-imaged molecules, R and S. Two years before the omeprazole patent expired, AstraZeneca patented S-omeprazole in pure form, pointing out that since some people metabolise R-omeprazole slowly, pure S-omeprazole treatment would give higher dose efficiency and less variation between individuals.^[132] In March 2001, the company began to market Nexium, as it would a brand new drug.^[133]

The (R)-enantiomer of omeprazole is metabolized exclusively by the enzyme CYP2C19, which is expressed in very low amounts by 3% of the population. Treated with a normal dose of the enantiomeric mixture, these persons will experience blood levels five-times higher than those with normal CYP2C19 production. In contrast, esomeprazole is metabolized by both CYP2C19 and CYP3A4, providing less-variable drug exposure.^[134] While omeprazole is approved only at doses of up to 20 mg for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux,^[135] esomeprazole is approved for doses up to 40 mg.^[136]

In 2007, Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine and a lecturer in social medicine at the Harvard Medical School, said in Stern, a German-language weekly newsmagazine, that AstraZeneca's scientists had misrepresented their research on the drug's efficiency, saying: "Instead of using presumably comparable doses [of each drug], the company's scientists used Nexium in higher dosages. They compared 20 and 40 mg Nexium with 20 mg Prilosec. With the cards having been marked in that way, Nexium looked like an improvement – which however was only small and shown in only two of the three studies."^[137]

On 4 February 1998, Astra USA sued Lars Bildman, its former president and chief executive officer, seeking US$15 million for defrauding the company.^[138] The sum included US$2.3 million in company funds he allegedly used to fix up three of his homes, plus money the company paid as the result of the EEOC investigation. Astra's lawsuit alleged Bildman sexually harassed and intimidated employees, used company funds for yachts and sex workers, destroyed documents and records, and concocted: "tales of conspiracy involving ex-KGB agents and competitors. This was in a last-ditch effort to distract attention from the real wrongdoer, Bildman himself." Bildman had already pleaded guilty in US District Court for failing to report more than US$1 million in income on his tax returns.^[139] In addition, several female co-workers filed personal sexual-harassment lawsuits against Bildman.^[140] In April 1998, Bildman was sentenced to 21 months in prison three months after he pled guilty to filing false Federal tax returns.^[141][139]

In February 1998, AstraZenaca's U.S. affiliate Astra U.S.A. agreed to a $10 million settlement after an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation which started in May 1996 found that sexual harassment against female employees.^[142] 120 former female employees of Astra were interviewed during the inquiry, with about 80 of them being identified as able to file claims.^[142] Astra U.S.A. also issued a statement of apology for the hostile work environment.^[142]

In Astra USA v. Bildman, 914 N.E.2d 36 (Mass. 2009), applying New York's faithless servant doctrine, the court held that a company's employee who had engaged in financial misdeeds and sexual harassment must "forfeit all of his salary and bonuses for the period of disloyalty".^[143] The court held that this was the case even if the employee "otherwise performed valuable services", and that the employee was not entitled to recover restitution for the value of those other services.^[143][144] The decision attracted a good deal of attention by legal commentators.^[145]

In 2004, University of Minnesota research participant Dan Markingson took his own life while enrolled in an industry-sponsored pharmaceutical trial comparing three FDA-approved atypical antipsychotics: Seroquel (quetiapine), Zyprexa (olanzapine), and Risperdal (risperidone). University of Minnesota Professor of Bioethics Carl Elliott noted that Markingson was enrolled in the study against the wishes of his mother, Mary Weiss, and that he was forced to choose between enrolling in the study or being involuntarily committed to a state mental institution.^[146] A 2005 FDA investigation cleared the university. Nonetheless, controversy around the case has continued. A Mother Jones article^[146] resulted in a group of university faculty members sending a public letter to the university Board of Regents urging an external investigation into Markingson's death.^[147]

In February 2010, AstraZeneca agreed to pay £505 million to settle a UK tax dispute related to transfer mispricing.^[148][149]

In August 2020, AstraZeneca made an advance purchase agreement with the European Commission and the EU member states for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines:

"13.1. AstraZeneca represents, warrants and covenants to the Commission and the Participating Member States that: [...] (e) it is not under any obligation, contractual or otherwise, to any Person or third party in respect of the Initial Europe Doses or that conflicts with or is inconsistent in any material respect with the terms of this Agreement or would impede the complete fulfilment of its obligation under this Agreement;"^[150]

However, the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, declared in March 2021 that the United Kingdom had been given "exclusivity" and that the EU's treaty was "inferior".^[151][152] After placing the order for AstraZeneca's vaccine, the European Commission mistakenly assumed that it had enough vaccines and initially ordered only 200 million doses from Pfizer–BioNTech when the manufacturers offered 500 million doses to the EU in November 2020.^[153]

However, the contract that AstraZeneca reached with the UK was very similar to that it reached with the EU, and it also contained the phrase "best reasonable efforts"; the UK contract was signed on 28 August 2020, a day after the contract with the EU.^[154] The key difference seems to be that AstraZeneca entered into a preliminary agreement with the U.K. back in May 2020 which arranged for "the development of a dedicated supply chain for the U.K."^[155] The failure to produce the vaccine in the anticipated quantities contributed to the low vaccination rates of vulnerable populations of the European Union at the beginning of the outbreak of more virulent variants of SARS-CoV-2 in early 2021.^[156]

AstraZeneca's reputation in China was tarnished when its Chinese subsidiary did not quickly donate to relief efforts after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.^[157]: 121 Typically, donations for disaster relief in China are made through funds established through the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs and its subordinate organization, the Red Cross Society of China.^[157]: 121 AstraZeneca had a corporate rule prohibiting foreign subsidiaries from making donations to local governments, and the company construed this rule as prohibiting donations for Sichuan earthquake relief efforts.^[157]: 121 AstraZeneca's Chinese subsidiary suffered a major backlash for its failure to donate.^[157]: 121 Corporate approval was eventually given for the Chinese subsidiary to donate, but only after a long delay.^[157]: 121

During the early 2020s, AstraZeneca expanded its R&D pipeline within China, increasing its investment in the country; the firm also signed licensing agreements with nine separate biotech firms in China that have been collectively valued at $6.5 billion.^[158][159]

In May 2023, AstraZeneca's China president, Leon Wang, stated that the company aims to be a "patriotic" company in China that "loves the Communist Party."^[160] On 30 October 2024, AstraZeneca revealed that Wang was under investigation by Chinese authorities and had been detained.^[161] The China business is now being run by Michael Lai, the general manager.^[162]

In November 2024, it was announced that Chinese officials had widened their investigation under a national anti-corruption campaign targeting healthcare. Among the allegations, former AstraZeneca employees are accused of falsifying genetic tests to secure reimbursement for the company’s lung cancer drug, Tagrisso.^[163] Several current and former company executives are also being investigated for potentially breaching data privacy laws and for the suspected illegal importation of certain cancer drugs – likely including Enhertu, Imfinzi and Imjudo – from Hong Kong.^[164]

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, AstraZeneca faced criticism for maintaining its operations and continuing certain clinical trials in Russia, despite promising to halt new investments in the country.^[165] While several international pharmaceutical companies announced suspensions of new clinical studies in Russia after the conflict began, AstraZeneca moved forward with a study for a new COVID-19 prevention drug, essential for its registration in Russia.^[166]

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