[U.S. IPO] AstraZeneca Drops ADRs for NYSE Direct Listing; UK Headquarters to Remain

TradingKey - Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced on Monday a major capital structure adjustment plan, proposing to list its shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to replace the American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) currently traded by U.S. investors.

The FTSE 100 constituent stated that this adjustment will not affect its primary listing status in London or its UK corporate headquarters. Following the change, investors will be able to trade the company's ordinary shares in London, Stockholm, and New York.

AstraZeneca plans to hold a shareholder vote on this proposal on November 3, which the company describes as "creating a global listing platform for a global company to serve global investors."

Despite AstraZeneca's headquarters being located in the UK, its business focus and market performance show a significant tilt toward the United States. The U.S. market currently represents AstraZeneca's largest market, contributing a substantial 42% of the group's total sales. The company employs more than 18,000 people in the country and operates 19 research, manufacturing, and commercial sites, data that fully illustrate the strategic importance of the U.S. market to AstraZeneca.

This conversion from ADRs to direct ordinary share listing is a direct reflection of this growing importance. The transition will enable U.S. investors to more conveniently purchase AstraZeneca's full ordinary shares, lowering investment barriers and potentially attracting more U.S. capital attention, which may increase the possibility that its London listing could become less significant.

"Today we set out our proposed harmonised listing structure which will support our long-term strategy for sustainable growth, while remaining headquartered in the UK and listed in London, Stockholm and New York. Enabling a global listing structure will allow us to reach a broader mix of global investors and will make it even more attractive for all our shareholders to have the opportunity to participate in AstraZeneca's exciting future," says Chair Michel Demare.

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot has long complained about the UK's regulatory regime and expressed concerns that the UK is falling behind the United States and China in competitiveness. The UK pharmaceutical industry has grown increasingly dissatisfied with the government's efforts to promote the life sciences sector, with specific disputes ranging from insufficient clinical trials to stringent new drug reimbursement policies.

Soriot has particularly voiced dissatisfaction with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK for refusing to expand access to AstraZeneca's breast cancer drug Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) for a broader patient population. In a separate press release, AstraZeneca stated that Enhertu demonstrated "highly statistically and clinically significant improvement" in high-risk early breast cancer patients, significantly extending invasive disease-free survival compared to trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1).

Against the backdrop of global pharmaceutical manufacturers working to avoid high U.S. tariffs on imported drugs, AstraZeneca has also committed to investing $50 billion in U.S. manufacturing by 2030 and will lower prices for certain drugs sold directly to U.S. customers as requested by President Donald Trump's administration.

This investment will include building a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Virginia — AstraZeneca's largest single manufacturing investment globally — and expanding its research, development, and cell therapy manufacturing operations in Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Indiana, and Texas.