Pascal Soriot News

AstraZeneca said on Friday it will spend $2.5 billion on a research and development hub in Beijing, as the drugmaker scrambles to revive business in its second-biggest market after scandals including the arrest of its China president last year. Chief executive Pascal Soriot was in Beijing and met with the city's mayor to reveal the investment, along with two licensing deals with Chinese companies, saying they all showed the company's commitment to the world's No. 2 economy. «This $2.5 billion investment reflects our belief in the world-class life sciences ecosystem in Beijing, the extensive opportunities that exist for collaboration and access to talent, and our continued commitment to China,» Soriot said in a statement. The R&D centre «will partner with the cutting-edge biology and AI science in Beijing and be a critical part of our global efforts to bring innovative medicines to patients worldwide,» Soriot said. The Chinese government has launched several investigations into AstraZeneca's executives and activities in the country, where it has invested billions of dollars to build factories and license experimental drug candidates from Chinese biotech firms.

This means that the median FTSE 100 CEO received 120 times the average salary of a full-time worker in the UK, a slight decrease from the 124:1 ratio returned in 2022, according to the latest research from the High Pay Centre.  AstraZeneca's Pascal Soriot topped the salary rankings, having pulled in just shy of £16.9m last year.  FTSE 100 CEO pay grows 12% in 2022 Chief executives from Rolls Royce, Diageo and Prudential also made the top ten list, with HSBC's Noel Quinn raking in over £10.6m in 2023. Of the 100 companies surveyed, 11 had a female CEO serve for part of the year, ...

GSK CEO Emma Walmsley's total remuneration rose 51% to 12.7 million pounds ($16 million) in 2023, thanks to a big jump in performance-related pay, the British drugmaker's annual report showed on Friday. Walmsley's total pay included 11.1 million pounds in performance bonuses and awards. Her total pay in 2022 was 8.4 million pounds.

LONDON (Reuters) -Shares in London-listed drugmaker AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) fell more than 4% on Monday, sliding to their lowest since July 19.