Overview

• Shares in AstraZeneca rose by up to 3% on July 1–2 in London trading after reports that CEO Pascal Soriot wants to shift the primary listing to a U.S. exchange.
• Soriot’s private push reflects long-standing frustration with NICE approval restrictions and the NHS drug rebate scheme that he says hinder new investment.
• Any formal proposal to move the listing would need board approval and is expected to face significant resistance from directors and government ministers.
• A U.S. listing would deal a substantial blow to the London Stock Exchange and Britain’s life sciences sector, following other FTSE 100 companies that have shifted primary listings to U.S. markets.
• AstraZeneca already derives over 40% of its 2024 revenues from the U.S. market and recently announced a $2.5 billion R&D hub in Beijing as part of its global growth strategy.