AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) saw its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) increase by 2.2% following a report from The Times suggesting that CEO Sir Pascal Soriot has privately shown interest in shifting the company’s stock listing to the United States.
Sources close to the CEO told The Times that Soriot has repeatedly expressed a preference for relocating the pharmaceutical giant’s listing from the FTSE 100 to a U.S. exchange. Discussions have even touched on the possibility of changing AstraZeneca’s corporate domicile. However, such plans might encounter opposition from some board members and the British government, which reportedly remains unaware of these considerations.
Since taking the helm in 2012, Soriot has openly voiced concerns about Europe lagging behind the U.S. and China in developing breakthrough medicines—markets that make up AstraZeneca’s largest global revenue streams.
Insiders say the CEO is “deeply frustrated” with the UK’s regulatory environment, particularly the hurdles posed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) regarding drug approvals and pricing restrictions tied to the NHS rebate scheme.
As the UK’s most valuable publicly traded company, AstraZeneca’s potential move overseas would mark a major change in Britain’s corporate scene. Under Soriot’s leadership, the company has grown into a flagship of the UK pharmaceutical sector over the past decade.