AstraZeneca may defer U.S. cancer drug launches in response to IRA

AstraZeneca said the Inflation Reduction Act is leading it to consider dramatic changes to its R&D and commercialization strategies, including some that would harm patients in the U.S. by delaying access to new drugs.

On an earnings call Thursday, senior executives at AstraZeneca plc (LSE:AZN; NASDAQ:AZN) said the company may defer U.S. launches of some cancer drugs to maximize revenues before the IRA’s price-setting provisions come into effect. They also signaled their intention to deprioritize development of small molecules and other drugs regulated under the NDA pathway...