AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot explained in a Tuesday interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer why the drugmaker believes it can almost double revenue by 2030.
“Biology is complicated, and we’re never sure of anything. But we have a great level of confidence we can get there, and I think this target forces us to think creatively and be ambitious and stretch,” Soriot said. “But we have a large portfolio of existing products, several blockbusters … growing strongly, and we have another 20 medicines to launch, so we should be able to get there.”
AstraZeneca announced in late May that it had set a goal to raise revenue to $80 billion by the end of the decade, up from $45.8 billion in 2023. The pharmaceutical giant also plans to release 20 new drugs by 2030, half of which will treat cancer, Soriot said.
The company recently released promising results about several of its cancer drugs at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting, including ones for lung and breast cancers.
Soriot said researchers are quickly developing new and promising cancer treatments. He said new cell therapies have the potential to cure patients, and he also pointed to antibody-drug conjugates — which, unlike chemotherapy, aim to target cancer cells while sparing healthy ones.
“Science has exploded in the last 10-15 years, and what you see happen at the ASCO gives you hope that the day when cancer can be cured is not that far away,” he said. “Either cured or turned to a chronic condition.”
Soriot told CNBC in April the company’s first quarter saw sales increase 19% and its oncology business grew by 26%, topping $5 billion for the first time.
