AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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So is it also embracing very strong growth? And Pulmicort, after last year’s VVP, we digested and this year, we to growth now. So Forxiga is also one of our very major important growth driver and together with roxa also all the other CDM portfolio doing extremely well. So I think in the next one or two years, three years, we are launching a lot of new indications and new products. So a little bit behind global, but also we also need to digest the VVP impact and some price cut off NRDL. Government in China is treating innovation better than before. So I think this is also a very good sign for NRDL policy, some of the transparency and also bring quite a good policy.

Operator: Victor Sanders, Nordea. Victor, over to you. Victor, we can’t hear you.

Victor Sanders: Yes, okay, can you hear me now?

Operator: Yes, go ahead.

Victor Sanders: Sorry. So, I have two questions, if I may. Thank you for taking my questions. So on the outlook for 2023, I just wanted to get a bit more details on the headwinds that keeps you from raising or refining the guidance. So in China, you seem to be more optimistic that the parameter is going against you that you mentioned here seems to be quite well anticipated perhaps in the beginning of the year. So in the core generic situation in the US and an LDL impact from China in the second half. So are there other things here as well that keep you on the sideline or guidance upgrade or refinement that have surprised you a bit during the year. You mentioned inflation. So maybe a quick comment on that would be helpful. And the second question I have is on Imfinzi.

Very strong growth across all geographies, as you said, but especially in your Rest of the World category. Can you just elaborate a bit more what is driving that and how we should extrapolate in that geography and why the uptake has been so quick here? Thanks.

Pascal Soriot: Thanks, Victor. Aradhana, do you want to take the first one and David, the second one?

Aradhana Sarin: Yes, sure. Thank you, Pascal. Thank you, Victor for the question. So, we are reiterating guidance for the year. And I think it’s a bit of phasing and dynamics between first half and second half. In the second half, we are going to experience, as you just mentioned and I mentioned before, the Symcor generic in the US Nexium [Indiscernible] started to see the impact. And again, it’s a progressive impact, again, more in the later part of the year and decline in various other legacy brands deals. So if you look at some of the other — the brands that are the other of the legacy category. The trend that was mentioned by Dave around [Technical Difficulty] produce from a clinical supply standpoint, a lot of that is weighted towards the second half in R&D costs. So again, it’s more phasing than anything else, and we are reiterating our guidance for the full year. And then Dave, on Imfinzi, Rest of World.

David Fredrickson : So Victor, it stems back to the answer to the question that I gave previously to James. Established Rest of World is made up predominantly of sales from Japan. I think that if you take a look at a lot of the other international markets, they sit within emerging markets. So the success that you see in the quarter for Imfinzi and Judo is really driven by very rapid uptake that’s been happening over the course of the half with TOPAZ-1. And then also within the last quarter, we’ve had reimbursement from Judo that’s allowed us to be able to move forward with HIMALAYA.

Pascal Soriot : Thank you, Dave. Steve Scala. Do you want to go ahead, Steve?

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