Strategy and vision

At AstraZeneca, we are dedicated to the research, development, manufacture and marketing of medicines that make a difference in healthcare. For us, this is at the core of our responsibility to our stakeholders and to society. Successful pharmaceutical innovation, delivered responsibly, brings benefits for patients, creates sustainable value for shareholders and contributes to the economic development of the communities we serve.

New medicines are needed more than ever. People are living longer, populations are increasing and new markets are fast emerging. Despite significant medical advances in recent decades, there are still many diseases which are not well treated or there is not yet an effective medicine. But while the demand for better health continues to grow, our industry faces unprecedented challenges including patent expiries on major medicines, ever higher hurdles for R&D productivity and increasing pressure on pricing as healthcare budgets around the world feel the strain.

To succeed in this increasingly challenging environment, we need to get even better at what we do and build stronger relationships with our customers and other stakeholders. Our business strategy centres on enhancing our R&D, expanding our footprint in emerging markets, boosting our efforts to source innovation from outside AstraZeneca and increasingly working in partnerships that broaden the base for success in improving healthcare. At the same time, we continue to drive efficiency and effectiveness across the organisation, including increased outsourcing to a diverse range of strategic suppliers.

All of these efforts are underpinned by our continued commitment to the sustainable development of our business which delivers value for our stakeholders and for us. To that end, our responsible business objectives are closely aligned to, and support delivery of, our business strategy. Our Responsible Business Plan provides our framework for delivering business success responsibly. It puts at the top of our agenda those areas most impacted by our strategic priorities and which are therefore key enablers of our business strategy.

This means a particular focus on:
	Sales and marketing practices Driving consistently high ethical standards to promote our medicines responsibly worldwide. Read more
	Access to healthcare Exploring ways of increasing access to healthcare for underserved patient populations in a sustainable way. Read more
	Clinical trials and animal research Underpinning our drive for innovation with sound ethical R&D practice worldwide. Read more
	Human rights Making sure that we continue to develop and drive a consistent approach across all our activities. Read more
	Diversity and inclusion Ensuring that diversity, in its broadest sense, is appropriately represented in our leadership, our workforce and our thinking. Read more
	Suppliers Working only with organisations who embrace ethical standards that are consistent with our own. Read more

As well as managing specific responsible business challenges associated with our strategic business priorities, we are maintaining focus on other aspects of our responsibility:

• Patient safety 
• Environmental impact
• Employee safety, health and wellbeing
• Community investment 

Stakeholder dialogue and internal risk assessment was critical to the development of our Plan and, because this is a dynamic and evolving area, we will continue to engage with our stakeholders and work within the business to understand how we can further improve our performance.