AstraZeneca boss urges western drugmakers to move at ‘Chinese speed’

Europe and US risk being outpaced on innovation, as happened in the car industry, warns Pascal Soriot

AstraZeneca must operate at Chinese speed" to ensure it does not suffer the fate of the western automotive industry by losing out to more innovative rivals, the drug company's boss has said.

The FTSE 100 company is watching the rise of China's pharmaceutical industry closely and collaborating to take drugs to global markets, but its chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said the US and European pharmaceutical sectors must focus on increasing the speed of innovation.