Astra CEO Breaks With Peers on Aligning Drug Prices Globally

AstraZeneca Plc’s chief executive officer broke ranks with his pharmaceutical industry peers Tuesday, saying he was open to making sure Americans pay similar prices for newly developed drugs as people in other wealthy countries.

The current discrepancy in drug pricing is unsustainable, Astra CEO Pascal Soriot said in an interview at Bloomberg headquarters in New York, acknowledging that change is inevitable. It will be better for the industry to be involved than be blindsided by regulations that are imposed without its input, he said.