AstraZeneca feels patent heat

The market reacted badly to AstraZeneca's (AZN) full-year results - not because the group missed consensus forecasts, but because it's increasingly likely that only major product acquisitions can reverse the damage caused to the company's earnings prospects from key patent expiries. Chief executive Pascal Soriot now expects a mid-to-high single-digit decline in sales this year, with the fall in core EPS to be "significantly" more than revenue.

visible-status-Subscription-Only story-url-AstraZeneca results tip update 31 Jan 2013.xml