AstraZeneca says seeking deals, but silent on Pfizer
London (AFP) - AstraZeneca, the British drugs giant, would not be drawn on Thursday over reports it faces a mega takeover bid from US rival Pfizer, alongside news that its profits had halved.
But AstraZenenca chief executive Pascal Soriot said the company was on the look out for deals amid a shake-up of the pharmaceutical sector.
Despite profits tumbling in the first quarter, hit by generic competition following the loss of exclusivity for key drugs, AstraZeneca's share price surged on Thursday on signs that it had turned a corner amid a restructuring programme.
"We are looking for potential partnerships and collaborations, alliances that would enable us to market those products," Soriot said in a conference call with reporters after stating that AstraZeneca has "a firm policy of not commenting on speculations".
Earlier, the group said that profit after tax had slumped to $504 million (365 million euros) in the three months to the end of March compared with $1.011 billion during the first quarter of 2013.
But the company, which is looking to push ahead with new treatments for cancer, respiratory disease and diabetes, was silent in response to weekend reports that Pfizer is considering a $100 billion takeover.
AstraZeneca added that its pre-tax profits fell by more than half to £638 million in the first quarter. Revenues edged up 0.5 percent to $6.416 billion but by 3.0 percent at constant exchange rates.
AstraZeneca said that the impact of losses from major patent expiries, including for anti-cholesterol drug Crestor, totalled almost $150 million in the first quarter.
In a bid to turn around the firm's fortunes, AstraZeneca is investing in its "rapidly progressing pipeline" of cancer drugs, Soriot said in the group's earnings statement.
It is also shedding around 5,000 jobs under a three-year cost-cutting programme due to end in 2016.
The global pharmaceutical sector has undergone a huge shake-up this week after drugmakers Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline unveiled multi-billion-dollar deals also involving US group Eli Lilly.
The string of takeovers and ventures by the three giant healthcare groups will see Novartis sharpen its focus on the high-grossing cancer sector, GSK boost its share in vaccines and Eli Lilly strengthen its animal health unit.
The mega deals come as the global pharmaceutical industry is quickly shifting to deal with a raft of challenges, in particular patents expiring on key brands and deep cuts to government healthcare spending worldwide.
Meanwhile, Swiss company Novartis posted a 24-percent jump in first-quarter net profit, driven largely by the sale of a blood transfusion diagnostics unit.
By early afternoon trading, AstraZeneca's share price was 4.95-percent higher at 4,242.5 pence on London's FTSE 100 shares index, which was up 0.63 percent overall at 6,716.9 points.
