AstraZeneca Plc delivered a 4% increase in product sales in 2018 – the first annual increase since 2009 – prompting the company to declare a return to growth after years of patent expiries and efforts to rebuild its pharmaceutical pipeline.
Driving the increase were higher sales of the lung cancer drug Tagrisso, the diabetes medicine Farxiga and the antiplatelet Brilinta. In addition, the company generated more than $600 million each from Lynparza and Imfinzi, both new cancer medicines.