CEO's Review
2009 was a year of considerable achievement in which I believe we laid firm foundations for the future success of the business. Underpinning all this is excellent execution of our plans, improved organisational flexibility and a committed workforce.
Operational highlights of the year include four significant regulatory filings for new medicines and two product launches. We agreed four late-stage project collaborations and have 89 projects in clinical development. In addition, sales of Toprol-XL and H1N1 influenza (swine flu) vaccine in the US accounted for three percentage points of the global revenue growth at CER, while growth in Emerging Markets was up 12%, accounting for 13% of total revenue. 2009 was also the year in which we reached an agreement in principle with the US Attorney's Office to settle claims relating to Seroquel sales and marketing practices and to make a payment of $524 million (including interest).
If we are to bring benefits to patients and create value for shareholders, we need a constant flow of new and innovative medicines. Of the four regulatory filings made in 2009, Brilinta is a treatment for acute coronary syndromes, Certriad is for the treatment of lipid abnormalities and Vimovo is for arthritic pain. The fourth submission was for a fixed-dose combination of Onglyza™ and metformin for treating diabetes. 2009 saw Onglyza™ launched in the US and in the EU for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Iressa, our anti-cancer medicine, was launched in the EU. Of course, in the process of developing new medicines, we experience setbacks as well as successes. The decision we made during the year to withdraw the regulatory submissions we had made for our anti-cancer medicine, Zactima, came as a disappointment.
As projects leave the development pipeline, we replenish it with new projects that will yield regulatory submissions in future years. We now have 11 projects in Phase III development. Twenty-nine projects entered the pipeline during the year and 53 projects were progressed to their next phase of development. We seek to provide each of these projects with a business case underpinned by a clear scientific rationale and sound financial case.
In strengthening our pipeline we look beyond our own laboratories to access the best science and external sources of innovation. As a result, a significant number of our projects come from our programme of collaboration. These include two of our regulatory filings: Certriad was submitted with Abbott and Vimovo was submitted by our partner Pozen Inc. In addition, Onglyza™ was the first product of our diabetes collaboration with BMS.
Other collaborations agreed in 2009 included the in-licence from Forest of ceftaroline, a 'next generation' anti-infective. We enhanced the value of this programme in December with an agreement to acquire Novexel, a private infection research company. We also agreed in-licensing deals with Nektar and Targacept.
A further focus in 2009 was the continued reshaping of the business to give us the organisational flexibility we need to take advantage of opportunities. Initiatives include outsourcing some of our R&D activities, other business processes and support services, such as HR. To meet evolving customer needs we are adapting our methods of sales and marketing and altering our supply chains.
Our drive to improve efficiency and effectiveness across AstraZeneca has resulted in further reductions in our workforce. The executive team and I remain committed to ensuring that we manage these changes in the right way. This means that, in meeting the needs of the business, we deal responsibly and sympathetically with affected individuals and the communities in which they live.
We continue to integrate responsible business considerations into everyday decision-making across all our activities, reinforcing personal accountability for compliance with our Code of Conduct through training and monitoring of business practices. We were pleased to have our efforts recognised externally with improved scores in the 2009 Dow Jones Index. Looking ahead, we have identified areas for improvement and will take action to strengthen further our governance and management processes, building on our progress to date and driving continuous improvement throughout the business.
2009 also saw some changes to the executive team. Jan Lundberg, Executive Vice‑President, Discovery Research left AstraZeneca in November. We thank him for his significant contribution to the business. Christer Köhler has taken over the role on an interim basis. Bruno Angelici, Executive Vice-President, International Sales and Marketing Organisation, will be leaving AstraZeneca later in 2010. He has made an enormous contribution and we thank him for his sound judgement and strong leadership.
Finally, the achievements of the year would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of all our employees, to whom I offer my thanks. For many of our employees 2009 was a year of change. The pace of change is not going to let up in 2010. Indeed, it is going to accelerate. I am confident that our staff will respond with the commitment they have shown in the past.
The Strategy and Performance section outlines our plans and priorities for 2010 and beyond, which we need to implement to ensure we prosper in the years ahead. In doing so, we will improve the health of patients around the world and thereby create value for our shareholders.
David R Brennan
Chief Executive Officer
