Active Stocks
Tue Mar 19 2024 15:58:41
  1. Tata Consultancy Services share price
  2. 3,977.55 -4.03%
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 148.65 -0.64%
  1. Bharti Airtel share price
  2. 1,227.85 0.23%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 258.95 -2.28%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 409.50 -1.89%
Business News/ Companies / News/  AstraZeneca starts search for CEO Pascal Soriot successor
BackBack

AstraZeneca starts search for CEO Pascal Soriot successor

Potential candidates for AstraZeneca CEO's role could include senior executives Mene Pangalos and Ruud Dobber, the 'Sunday Times' says

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot isn’t expected to leave immediately, and headhunters have been asked to draw up a list of internal candidates rather than conduct a formal search. Photo: BloombergPremium
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot isn’t expected to leave immediately, and headhunters have been asked to draw up a list of internal candidates rather than conduct a formal search. Photo: Bloomberg

London: AstraZeneca Plc has started scouting for candidates to replace chief executive officer Pascal Soriot six years into his tenure at the helm following pressure from shareholders, the Sunday Times reported, without saying where it got the information.

Soriot (59) isn’t expected to leave immediately, and headhunters have been asked to draw up a list of internal candidates rather than conduct a formal search, the newspaper said. Meanwhile, investors are also urging AstraZeneca to identify a successor to chief financial officer Marc Dunoyer, the Sunday Times said.

Potential candidates for the CEO’s role could include senior executives Mene Pangalos and Ruud Dobber, the newspaper said.

AstraZeneca said last week one of its key new drugs, Imfinzi, failed to prolong the lives of patients with advanced lung tumours when it was used alone or in combination with another treatment, in comparison to the standard therapy. Soriot had continued to defend the therapy after it failed in a key analysis last year, even as he fended off criticism for rejecting Pfizer Inc.’s $117 billion takeover bid more than four years ago.

Had the trial succeeded, Imfinzi would likely have become the Cambridge, England-based company’s best-selling medicine. Still, the treatment is expected to generate more than $2.5 billion in annual sales from 2022, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The drug has already shown utility in earlier-stage lung cancer that can’t be removed with surgery, and AstraZeneca is now looking to further studies that may support other uses.

While AstraZeneca shares have more than doubled since the Frenchman took over, the therapy’s failure in treating late-stage cancer patients—among other setbacks suffered by the UK’s second-largest drugmaker—appeared to put the at least $40 billion in sales that Soriot had promised to achieve by 2023 further out of reach.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Corporate news and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
More Less
Published: 18 Nov 2018, 04:35 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App

Chat with MintGenie