Pascal Soriot

Pascal Soriot
Born	Pascal Claude Roland Soriot 23 5, 1959
Birthplace	France
Nationality	French, Australian
Occupation	Businessman
Title	CEO, AstraZeneca
Education	École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort HEC Paris
Children	2

Sir Pascal Claude Roland Soriot (born 23 May 1959) is a French-born Australian businessman who has served as chief executive officer of AstraZeneca, the British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, since 2012. Appointed at a time when the company faced expiring patents on key drugs and a thinning development pipeline, Soriot oversaw a strategic transformation that repositioned AstraZeneca as a major force in oncology and other therapeutic areas. His tenure has been marked by large-scale investment in research and development, significant revenue growth, and a prominent role during the COVID-19 pandemic, when AstraZeneca partnered with the University of Oxford to develop and distribute one of the world's most widely used vaccines. Before joining AstraZeneca, Soriot held senior positions at Roche and spent more than two decades at various pharmaceutical firms. He was awarded a British knighthood in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to the United Kingdom's life sciences sector and for his leadership during the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, Soriot has been an outspoken advocate for European competitiveness in the pharmaceutical sector, warning that the continent risks falling behind the United States and China in life sciences innovation.

Early Life

Pascal Claude Roland Soriot was born on 23 May 1959 in France. Details regarding his family background and upbringing have not been extensively documented in public sources. He later obtained Australian citizenship, and is frequently described in corporate and media profiles as French-born Australian.

Education

Soriot studied at the École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort, one of France's leading veterinary schools, where he received training in veterinary science. He subsequently attended HEC Paris, the prestigious French business school, where he completed a programme in business administration. This combination of scientific and business education formed the foundation for his career in the pharmaceutical industry.

Career

Early Career and Pharmaceutical Industry Beginnings

Soriot began his professional career in the pharmaceutical sector in 1982. Over the following decades, he held positions at several major pharmaceutical companies. His early career included roles at firms operating across the global pharmaceutical landscape, during which he gained experience in commercial operations and general management across multiple geographic markets.

Roche

Before joining AstraZeneca, Soriot served as chief operating officer of the pharmaceuticals division at Roche, the Swiss multinational healthcare company. At Roche, he was a member of the corporate executive committee and was responsible for overseeing the company's global pharmaceutical commercial operations. His tenure at Roche established his reputation as a senior pharmaceutical industry executive with deep expertise in drug commercialisation and operations management.

Appointment as AstraZeneca CEO

On 28 August 2012, AstraZeneca announced that Soriot would become its new chief executive officer, succeeding David Brennan. The appointment was widely reported in the financial press, as AstraZeneca was at the time facing substantial challenges. The company's portfolio included several blockbuster drugs that were nearing the end of their patent protection, raising concerns about future revenue declines. Its research and development pipeline was considered thin relative to its peers, and investor confidence had waned.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Soriot's background at Roche, where he had overseen the commercial operations of some of the industry's leading cancer drugs, made him a strong candidate to lead AstraZeneca's turnaround.

Transformation of AstraZeneca

Upon taking charge, Soriot embarked on a strategy centred on rebuilding the company's drug development pipeline through a combination of internal research investment and external acquisitions and partnerships. He placed a particular strategic emphasis on oncology, which became the cornerstone of AstraZeneca's growth strategy under his leadership. The company invested heavily in cancer treatment research and built a portfolio of oncology drugs that became a significant driver of revenue growth.

Bloomberg described Soriot as having turned AstraZeneca into "an oncology powerhouse" characterised by "a high-pressure culture and a deep relationship with the US." Le Monde noted in December 2025 that since taking over in 2012, Soriot had "transformed the British pharmaceutical company that once lagged" behind its competitors.

Pfizer Takeover Bid (2014)

In 2014, AstraZeneca became the target of a major takeover bid from the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer. The Evening Standard reported on the bid battle, describing it as approximately £63 billion in value and quoting Soriot's defence of the company's independent strategy. Soriot argued that AstraZeneca could deliver greater value to shareholders by continuing to develop its pipeline as a standalone company rather than being absorbed into Pfizer. Pfizer's bid was ultimately unsuccessful, and AstraZeneca remained independent. The episode was considered a defining moment of Soriot's tenure, as the company's subsequent performance under his leadership vindicated his argument that AstraZeneca's pipeline would generate substantial value over time.

Teva Pharmaceutical Approach (2017)

In July 2017, reports emerged that Soriot had been approached to become the chief executive of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the Israeli generic drug manufacturer. An Israeli newspaper reported that Soriot had agreed to take the position, prompting speculation about his potential departure from AstraZeneca. Reuters also reported on the possibility of Soriot moving to Teva. However, the Daily Telegraph subsequently reported that Soriot appeared set to remain at AstraZeneca, and he ultimately did not take the Teva role.

COVID-19 Pandemic Response

Soriot's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic brought him to global prominence. AstraZeneca partnered with the University of Oxford to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, known as the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, marketed as Vaxzevria). The vaccine was one of the first to receive emergency authorisation worldwide and was distributed on a not-for-profit basis to low- and middle-income countries, a decision that distinguished AstraZeneca's approach from several of its competitors. Soriot's management of the vaccine's development, manufacturing scale-up, and global distribution was cited as a primary reason for his knighthood in the 2022 New Year Honours.

Revenue Growth and Strategic Ambitions (2025–2030)

Under Soriot's continued leadership, AstraZeneca has set ambitious long-term revenue targets. In February 2026, Fierce Pharma reported that the company had set its sights on having more than 25 blockbuster drugs by 2030 to support a revenue ambition of $80 billion. Oncodaily reported that Soriot highlighted strong 2025 performance with continued growth, sharing results with investors and media.

US Investment and Drug Pricing

In the mid-2020s, Soriot increasingly focused AstraZeneca's investment on the United States market, which represented the company's largest source of revenue. In July 2025, Fortune reported that Soriot discussed his rationale for building more extensively in the US, stating that "Europe is losing ground" in terms of competitiveness for pharmaceutical investment.

On the subject of drug pricing, Fierce Pharma reported in July 2025 that Soriot expressed support for a global "rebalancing of pricing" and indicated that AstraZeneca had been in extensive discussions with the US government, offering price reduction plans for its drugs. Bloomberg reported in November 2025 that Soriot had cultivated a deep relationship with the United States, including a willingness to engage with the administration of President Donald Trump on drug pricing negotiations.

Advocacy for European Competitiveness

By the mid-2020s, Soriot had become one of the most prominent voices in the pharmaceutical industry warning about the erosion of European competitiveness in life sciences. In an interview with Le Monde published in December 2025, he stated that "the pharmaceutical industry in Europe will be reduced to a shadow of itself within 15 years" unless the continent adopted more competitive policies for research, regulation, and investment. The Economist reported in August 2025 that Soriot, described as "a big believer in science," was growing frustrated with the regulatory and competitive environment in Britain.

In February 2026, Semafor reported on an interview in which Soriot stated that Europe "cannot be naive" about its rivalry with the US and China, underscoring his view that global pharmaceutical competition required more strategic thinking from European policymakers.

Personal Life

Soriot holds both French and Australian citizenship. He has two children. He has maintained a relatively private personal life compared to his public profile as a corporate executive. His dual nationality has been frequently noted in media coverage, particularly in the context of his leadership of a British-Swedish company while holding non-British citizenship.

Recognition

In the 2022 New Year Honours, Soriot was awarded a Knight Bachelor by the British Crown for his services to the United Kingdom's life sciences industry and for his leadership of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The honour was published in The London Gazette. AstraZeneca issued a press release confirming the knighthood, noting Soriot's role in the development and global distribution of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

Under Soriot's leadership, AstraZeneca's market capitalisation and revenue have grown substantially since 2012. His role in defending the company against the 2014 Pfizer bid and subsequently delivering on his promises regarding the pipeline's potential has been a recurring theme in financial media coverage. Bloomberg, The Economist, Fortune, and Le Monde have all profiled Soriot as one of the most influential figures in the global pharmaceutical industry.

Legacy

Soriot's tenure at AstraZeneca, which began in 2012 and continues as of 2026, represents one of the longer and more consequential periods of leadership at a major pharmaceutical company. He took charge of a company that was losing patent protection on several of its most important products and facing questions about its long-term viability as an independent entity. His decision to invest heavily in oncology research and to defend the company's independence during the 2014 Pfizer bid proved pivotal, as the company's subsequent pipeline development generated substantial returns for shareholders.

The COVID-19 pandemic placed Soriot in a position of global public visibility. AstraZeneca's decision to distribute the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine on a not-for-profit basis to developing nations was noted as a significant contribution to global public health, and Soriot's leadership during this period was recognised with his British knighthood.

His advocacy for European pharmaceutical competitiveness in the 2020s has positioned him as a prominent voice in policy debates about industrial strategy, research funding, and regulatory reform across Europe. His warnings about the decline of the European pharmaceutical industry relative to the US and China have been cited across major international publications.

As of early 2026, AstraZeneca under Soriot's leadership was pursuing a target of more than 25 blockbuster drugs by 2030 and an $80 billion revenue ambition, figures that, if achieved, would represent a fundamental transformation from the company he inherited in 2012.