About

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company. It is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative medicines and improving access to them. Its therapy areas cover oncology, rare diseases and biopharmaceuticals, including cardiovascular, renal and metabolism, and respiratory and immunology. It has 11 R&D centres in five countries and 28 manufacturing sites across 16 countries. AstraZeneca sells its medicines to more than 130 countries and its main disease area medicines (excluding the vaccine) impact more than 100 million patient lives each year. In 2021, total revenue was $37.4 billion and $9.7 billion was invested in science and R&D.

Awards

Wuxi, CN - Lighthouse award in Productivity

Oct 2024

The site faced two simultaneous shocks: a portfolio shift toward more complex sterile products (sterile volume up 103%) and steep price compression from local volume-based procurement policy. It responded with 34+ digital use cases and an in-house upskilling programme, holding revenue and headcount flat while cutting conversion costs 31% despite a 55% volume rise and ~60% drop in drug prices.

Södertälje, SE - Lighthouse award in Productivity

Oct 2024

Scientific breakthroughs are rapidly addressing unmet medical needs, driving demand for faster drug product development and launch. To become a major growth engine, the site needed to unlock capacity for strategic brands and accelerate complex new products to market. Implementing 50+ 4IR solutions featuring machine learning, optimisation algorithms and process simulations, alongside upskilling 3,000+ employees, delivered a 56% rise in labour productivity and a 67% cut in development lead times.