AstraZeneca reports sales drop in Q3

AstraZeneca's third quarter of 2013 saw a 4% decline in revenue due to the ongoing impact from key products' loss of exclusivity. The total revenue was $6,250 million.

Five growth platforms emerged this quarter, each achieving an 8% revenue increase. These platforms are: Emerging Markets, Japan, Brilinta, its diabetes franchise and its respiratory franchise.

"We continue to focus on the strategic priorities of returning to growth and achieving scientific leadership, and this is reflected in continued investment in our growth platforms and our pipeline. I am pleased with the progress we are making, particularly on the pipeline, with three regulatory filings, three Phase III starts and four business development transactions since our last update. As expected, our financial performance this year reflects the ongoing impact from the loss of exclusivity for several key brands."

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca.

AZ's late stage pipeline was strengthened by three new phase 3 clinical trial programme starts: olaparib for ovarian cancer patients, non-small cell lung cancer drug selumetinib and benralizumab for asthma. Regulatory filings were accepted for review for olaparib and naloxegol in Europe and for Epanova in the US.

Also, the pharma company's oncology portfolio was strengethened through new collaborations with Merck (WEE1 kinase inhibitor) and Janssen (co-promotion of abiraterone acetate in Japan) and acquisitions of Amplimmune and Spirogen.

Based on performance to date, and the outlook for the remainder of the year, AZ continues to anticipate a mid-to-high single-digit decline in revenue on a constant currency basis for the full year.