AstraZeneca's $400bn mega-merger with Bristol Myers Squibb fell apart after the FT reported on August 2. Pascal Soriot had promised $80bn in revenue by 2030, but the board decided to terminate discussions. The deal would have created the world's largest drugmaker by revenues, combining the two companies' assets.

The proposed transaction would have shifted AstraZeneca's centre of gravity towards the US and away from the UK. Investors were concerned about antitrust scrutiny and the shrinking revenues of BMS's blockbuster drugs, such as Eliquis. The deal would have been a major cost-cutting drive, but it would have left AstraZeneca exposed to BMS's shrinking revenues from blockbuster drugs, chief among them blood thinner Eliquis, which is set to face generic competition by 2028.

The deal has stoked investor fears about AstraZeneca's confidence in its pipeline, which is among the industry's deepest with a series of major oncology studies expected to report in the next 12 months.