AstraZeneca sees higher 2022 sales even as COVID boost wanes – Reuters

AstraZeneca sees higher 2022 sales even as COVID boost wanes – Reuters

Feb 10 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca (AZN.L) raised its annual dividend for the first time in a decade on Thursday and forecast higher sales for 2022 as new drugs against cancer, kidney disease and rare conditions make up for a decline in COVID-19 products.

Early data has shown a booster shot of the drugmaker's widely-used COVID-19 vaccine and its antibody drug Evusheld both work against the Omicron coronavirus variant.

But while the company forecasts sales of Evusheld to grow this year, it expects that will be more than outweighed by a decline in sales of the vaccine amid growing competition.