Every ASCO Annual Meeting is never short of top-tier power clashes.
The ASCO Plenary Session often signals key trends — each year selecting 5 breakthrough studies (LBA) with very high standards, regarded as the wind vane guiding clinical oncology practice. AstraZeneca has been honored on this top academic stage for 7 consecutive years[1], with a total of 8 studies selected since 2020, ranking first among global pharmaceutical companies[2]. In 2025, AstraZeneca secured two seats again with the breast cancer SERENA-6 study and the gastric cancer MATTERHORN study, while the DESTINY-Breast09 study in breast cancer was featured as a special major oral presentation (special LBA).
After ASCO, a strategic panoramic offensive and defensive map covering multiple tumor battlefields emerges: driven by technological innovation to iterate treatment paradigms, constructing a tumor conquering system via pipeline synergy, and achieving a leap from "global synchronization" to "leading the world" through deep localization in the Chinese market — ultimately advancing toward the vision of "Shared Health."
"In the next 5-10 years, many cancers are expected to be cured," said Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca's Global CEO, in his opening remarks at the ASCO Global Media Briefing. The ASCO Annual Meeting is a collective review of global oncology clinical research outcomes, and for AstraZeneca, it represents a milestone review aimed at the long-term goal of "making cancer no longer a leading cause of death."
This year at ASCO, AstraZeneca released 82 research abstracts covering 20 approved drugs and potential new medicines[2]. Multiple major clinical results in breast cancer, lung cancer, and gastrointestinal tumors outline AstraZeneca's key approaches to transforming global oncology diagnosis and treatment.
At the same time, the DESTINY-Breast series studies with trastuzumab deruxtecan continue to rewrite the treatment pattern of HER2-positive breast cancer. Dave Fredrickson, AstraZeneca's Global Executive VP and Head of Oncology Business, stated at the press conference, "ADC is replacing traditional chemotherapy regimens in many cases." The latest DESTINY-Breast09 study compared trastuzumab deruxtecan combined with pertuzumab head-to-head against the traditional THP regimen (Taxane + trastuzumab + pertuzumab) as first-line treatment, a breakthrough expected to reshape the treatment landscape for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients.
Another study selected for the plenary session — MATTERHORN — evaluates durvalumab combined with FLOT (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) chemotherapy for resectable early and locally advanced (stage II, III, IVA) gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma patients, representing AstraZeneca's exploration of perioperative therapy in gastric cancer. Dave Fredrickson remarked, "This study is a successful example of AstraZeneca migrating immunotherapy into early-stage cancer treatment." Meanwhile, the DESTINY-Gastric04 Phase III study evaluating trastuzumab deruxtecan as second-line therapy for HER2-positive unresectable and/or metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma patients also presented LBA oral results at this ASCO.
AstraZeneca continues deepening first- and second-line therapies while pushing cancer treatment into earlier stages, benefiting more patients in adjuvant and neoadjuvant settings and providing solutions for patients progressing after targeted therapies. Supporting this long-term breakthrough is AstraZeneca’s relentless R&D resilience and scientific leadership driving global oncology treatment paradigm shifts.
Last May, AstraZeneca boldly declared its ambition — to reach $80 billion in revenue by 2030. To achieve this high-growth challenge, AstraZeneca is strengthening its R&D foundation: continuously breaking the boundaries of traditional flagship products and persistently upgrading the oncology R&D "ammunition arsenal," building a comprehensive scientific productivity system for the future.
Mature products continue expanding indications, and new pipeline drugs form a relay echelon. Core drugs represented by osimertinib, durvalumab, and trastuzumab deruxtecan are extending their product life cycles by expanding treatment nodes and combination strategies across lung, breast, liver, gastric, and pancreatic cancers. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca is accelerating ADC, bispecific antibodies, cell therapy, radiopharmaceutical pipelines, forming a relay of marketed products to late- and early-stage clinical drugs to ensure mid-to-long-term competitiveness.
AstraZeneca’s upgrade strategy in major cancer therapies is clear: multi-dimensional cancer conquest, earlier and smarter diagnosis and treatment intervention, and development led by transformative technologies.
Mergers and acquisitions are critical paths for AstraZeneca to supplement its innovative pipeline and upgrade technologies. China is a key innovation market for AstraZeneca. From third-generation EGFR-TKI, HER2-targeted ADC drugs, to immune checkpoint inhibitors and next-gen BTK inhibitors, AstraZeneca has explored joint innovative treatment solutions with Chinese pharma companies. Since 2023, AstraZeneca has signed licensing cooperation agreements with 14 innovative Chinese pharma firms totaling $17.8 billion, leading multinational pharma companies, and continues to seek high-quality Chinese innovative assets to fill more oncology gaps.
Iskra Reic, AstraZeneca’s Global EVP and Head of International Business, said, "To support the ‘Healthy China 2030’ goal, AstraZeneca continuously promotes diagnosis and treatment transformation, dedicated to building a future of ‘Shared Health.’ This is a responsibility shared by society — only by uniting multiple forces can we bridge medical gaps and build a more inclusive and resilient medical ecosystem that truly benefits every patient."
AstraZeneca hopes to build decentralized research networks including broad and diverse clinical trial populations to aid early screening, precise diagnosis, and standardized treatment, reducing diagnostic and treatment gaps, improving patient outcomes, and helping build a higher-quality and sustainable healthcare system. To achieve this, AstraZeneca continuously expands its oncology "ammunition arsenal," reflecting both the depth and strategic foresight of its industrial organization and gradually showing growth momentum toward 2030.
China has become an important global hub for medical and health innovation and a key component for AstraZeneca’s grand 2030 vision and "Shared Health" vision. At ASCO 2025, the presence of Chinese innovation forces grew stronger — the number of oral presentations exceeded 70 for the first time, with a batch of globally competitive "First-in-class" and "Best-in-class" products taking center stage.
China’s innovative drug industry is undergoing a profound transformation from "integrating into the world" to "leading innovation." As one of the earliest multinational pharma companies entering China and continuing to invest, AstraZeneca has been a bridge between China and the world.
Over the past 30+ years, AstraZeneca has built a complete ecosystem in China covering basic research, clinical translation, industrial cooperation, and manufacturing. Now, this model is starting to output in reverse: AstraZeneca is driving China’s transition from a "participant" in the global R&D system to a "co-creator" and "source of innovation."
The brilliant SACHI study at ASCO, led by Chinese researchers, has become a representative example of Chinese forces guiding global clinical development. It reflects not only the progress in speed and quality of China’s clinical system but also China’s global-leading clinical protocol design capability in specific indications.
AstraZeneca’s long-term philosophy of "In China, For the World" is accelerating realization. Currently, AstraZeneca China’s R&D pipeline includes over 200 projects, half of which are oncology-related, with 10-15 new projects added yearly, achieving 100% global synchronous development. In gastric, liver, and biliary tract cancers — high-incidence cancers characteristic to China — China-led global clinical trials are underway, creating a model for China-originating cancer types expanding globally. Chinese innovation is an important driving force for AstraZeneca’s future oncology business growth.
Beyond clinical research, China teams are increasingly involved in early-stage R&D. Leveraging global strategic R&D centers in Shanghai and Beijing, the proportion of early drug research projects steadily rises, especially showing significant innovation capabilities in frontier biopharma fields such as ADC and cell therapy, laying a scientific foundation for enriching the oncology pipeline.
In global strategy and local innovation synergy, AstraZeneca’s cooperation with Chinese innovative biotech companies, academic institutions, and hospitals is one of the deepest ecological components of its China strategy.
Deep collaboration with China’s top hospitals and clinicians is a vivid example. AstraZeneca has jointly established "Lung Cancer Excellence Center" and "Gastric Cancer Excellence Center" with Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital and Peking University Cancer Hospital respectively, forming a multi-dimensional innovation network to achieve a more efficient "basic research–clinical validation–industrial transformation" innovation loop.
From "introducing into China" to "R&D in China," and then promoting "Chinese innovation to the world," AstraZeneca’s China strategy has undergone three transformations, consistently leading multinational pharma strategies in China. Behind these layouts lies AstraZeneca’s commitment to helping realize the ultimate vision of shared health through scientific research, medical accessibility, capacity building, and cooperation.
After decades of deep cultivation, AstraZeneca has built an oncology therapy moat that is hard to replicate. Its scientific leadership is reflected not only in clinical data breakthroughs but also in redefining treatment paradigms — from full-course management of breast cancer, early curative therapy in gastric cancer, to iterative lung cancer therapies, from targeted drug evolution to cross-application of ADC. AstraZeneca China’s deep localization is transforming "China’s needs" into "global solutions," steadily advancing toward the vision of "Shared Health."
