According to The Times, its CEO, Sir Pascal Soriot, has repeatedly expressed his preference for a US listing in private. According to sources close to the matter, a transfer of the company's headquarters to the US has even been discussed.
Since taking the helm at AstraZeneca in 2012, Pascal Soriot has repositioned the laboratory as a major player in the global pharmaceutical industry. But he has never hidden his reservations about the conditions for developing drugs in Europe. He recently chose Maryland as the location for a $3.5bn R&D center. He has also repeatedly threatened to transfer production to the US, touting the US government's massive support for the pharmaceutical industry.
In April, Pascal Soriot said that AstraZeneca was considering increasing investment in the US and warned Europe to improve its incentives for access to new drugs.
When the specter of new tariffs loomed, AstraZeneca quickly announced a partial redeployment of its production across the Atlantic: "We are in the process of transferring the manufacture of these products to the US, as we have the capacity to do so," the CEO said at the time.
These repeated signals betray a certain weariness on the part of the CEO with the UK regulatory environment. In particular, NICE, the UK's healthcare watchdog. According to sources close to the matter, Pascal Soriot is particularly irritated by the rigidity of its assessments.
Recently, AstraZeneca said it was "disappointed" after NICE refused to approve a breast cancer treatment, which it deemed too expensive for the NHS.
However, a change of listing would not be so easy, as such a decision would have to overcome regulatory hurdles.
