AstraZeneca braces for hit amid coronavirus epidemic
The novel coronavirus outbreak is now entering its eighth week, and it may be too soon to say how it will affect the industry broadly. But at least one drug maker, AstraZeneca, says it’s expecting sales in China to be negatively impacted.
The U.K. drug maker’s heavy investment into the Chinese market means it has greater exposure to the epidemic compared to other global pharma companies; over one-fifth of its product sales come from China, the company disclosed during its latest full-year and Q4 results presentation.
In terms of its guidance for 2020, the company says it is assuming an “unfavorable impact from China lasting up to a few months” as a result of the outbreak.
“Right now, the main impact is that our salespeople cannot visit the hospitals and access the health care professionals because doctors, especially some of the specialties, are focusing on fighting the epidemic,” Leon Wang, the company’s executive vice president, international, said on an earnings call.
He added that disruptions are likely to be temporary, and patients are now going to local pharmacies to refill their prescriptions instead of going to the hospitals.
The U.K. drug maker’s heavy investment into the Chinese market means it has greater exposure to the epidemic compared to other global pharma companies; over one-fifth of its product sales come from China, the company disclosed during its latest full-year and Q4 results presentation.
In terms of its guidance for 2020, the company says it is assuming an “unfavorable impact from China lasting up to a few months” as a result of the outbreak.
“Right now, the main impact is that our salespeople cannot visit the hospitals and access the health care professionals because doctors, especially some of the specialties, are focusing on fighting the epidemic,” Leon Wang, the company’s executive vice president, international, said on an earnings call.
He added that disruptions are likely to be temporary, and patients are now going to local pharmacies to refill their prescriptions instead of going to the hospitals.
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