Drugmaker AstraZeneca has warned it could face a fine in China over possible unpaid import taxes, as it revealed strong sales of cancer drugs helped drive revenues higher.
AstraZeneca said authorities in Shenzhen have said the unpaid taxes amount to 0.9 million dollars (£0.7 million) and that it could face a fine “of between one and five times the amount of unpaid importation taxes” if found liable.
It said the taxes related to its Imfinzi and Imjudo drugs, and that it is continuing to co-operate with Chinese authorities.
AstraZeneca appointed a new president for its China business late last year after previous executive Leon Wang was arrested by Chinese authorities along with other employees.
The Cambridge-based firm revealed that total revenues increased by 18% to 54.1 billion dollars (£43.3 billion) in 2024, compared with the previous year.
It came on the back of a 24% rise in sales of oncology treatments, those used for cancer patients.
Meanwhile, it saw pre-tax profits rise by 26% to a stronger-than-predicted 8.7 billion dollars (£6.97 billion) for the year.
Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, said: “Our company delivered a very strong performance in 2024.
“This year marks the beginning of an unprecedented, catalyst-rich period for our company, an important step on our Ambition 2030 journey to deliver 80 billion dollars (£64.1 billion) total revenue by the end of the decade.
“In 2025 alone, we anticipate the first phase III data for seven new medicines, along with several important new indication opportunities for our existing medicines.”
The company’s results come days after it cancelled a planned £450 million investment in a vaccine manufacturing plant in Merseyside, saying the current Labour government failed to match the previous government’s offer of support.
