AstraZeneca experienced a 5 percent drop in revenue from China during the first half of the year, totaling $3.5 billion, despite the company’s global revenue continuing its upward trend. Their worldwide earnings increased by 6 percent to $30.7 billion, driven by strong performances in oncology and rare disease divisions.
The company’s best-selling drug worldwide, Dapagliflozin, saw an 11 percent decrease in revenue, amounting to $4 billion, due primarily to patent expiration. In China, Dapagliflozin was included in a centralized procurement program, but AstraZeneca was excluded from bidding because of its high price, which led to a loss of market share in public hospitals. Additionally, the medication faces mounting competition from generic alternatives.
Tagrisso, a third-generation drug targeting epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in lung cancer, remains AstraZeneca’s second most popular product. In the first half, it earned $3.8 billion, reflecting a 6 percent increase year-over-year. However, growth within China’s EGFR-TKI market is slowing, and the competitive landscape is intensifying.
While Tagrisso initially held a strong position in China’s market as a first-line therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations, the emergence of several domestic drugs has begun to challenge its dominance.
Despite these challenges, AstraZeneca is ramping up investments in China, pledging over CNY 100 billion (approximately $14.8 billion) by 2030 to foster the development of next-generation innovative medicines. The company has also expanded its pipeline through acquisitions, including the purchase of rights to a PDE3/4 inhibitor for COPD from Sino Biopharmaceutical for $1.9 billion and the global rights to Sunvozertinib from Dizal Pharmaceutical for $1.5 billion.