Last year, AstraZeneca appointed a new president for its China operations following the arrest of former executive Leon Wang along with other staff members by Chinese authorities
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has issued a warning that it could be slapped with a fine in China over potential unpaid import taxes, as it unveiled robust sales of cancer drugs which boosted revenues.
The company disclosed that Shenzhen authorities have claimed the unpaid taxes total £0.7m and that it could face a penalty “of between one and five times the amount of unpaid importation taxes” if found culpable. AstraZeneca stated that the taxes are linked to its Imfinzi and Imjudo drugs, and it is maintaining co-operation with Chinese officials.
Late last year, AstraZeneca appointed a new president for its China operations following the arrest of former executive Leon Wang along with other staff members by Chinese authorities. The Cambridge-headquartered firm announced that total revenues surged by 18% to £43.3bn in 2024, compared to the previous year.
This increase was fuelled by a 24% rise in sales of oncology treatments, those used for treating cancer patients. In addition, it reported a stronger-than-expected 26% increase in pre-tax profits to £6.97bn for the year. Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, commented: “Our company delivered a very strong performance in 2024.”
He added: “This year marks the beginning of an unprecedented, catalyst-rich period for our company, an important step on our Ambition 2030 journey to deliver $80bn (£64.1bn) total revenue by the end of the decade. In 2025 alone, we anticipate the first phase III data for seven new medicines, along with several important new indication opportunities for our existing medicines.”
The firm’s latest update follows hot on the heels of its abandoned £450m project for a vaccine production facility in Merseyside, citing that the current Labour administration did not extend the same level of support as their predecessors.
