AstraZeneca Annual Report and Form 20-F Information 2011

Development projects20112010 12934243210 2 23 29 17200944 34 11 14200834 31 10 23200741 20 10 24ClinicalPhase I Phase II Phase III Line Extensions1Includes seven life-cycle management projects reintroduced from Brazil, Russia, India, China, Mexico, Turkey and Japan.2Includes seven projects that are approved or launched.Development projectsOur pipeline includes 79 projects in the clinical phase of development.As shown in the Development projects chart above, we now have atotal of 29 projects in Phase I, 24 projects in Phase II, 10 projects inlate stage development, either in Phase III or under regulatory review,and we are running 23 significant life-cycle management projects.During 2011, across the clinical portfolio, 25 projects have successfullyprogressed to their next phase (including five projects entering firsthuman testing) and 21 projects have been withdrawn. Further detailsare set out in the Therapy Area Review from page 56 and in theDevelopment Pipeline table from page 199.Portfolio qualityIn 2011, we undertook a thorough assessment of our early portfolioprojects, resulting in the termination of a number of early projects.Going forward, our focus will be on identifying key candidatemedicines that have the highest potential to deliver technical andcommercial success. By continuing to apply a rigorous qualityapproach to our candidate selection process, we expect to increasethe likelihood that our most promising medicines progress intoPhase III development.Our Portfolio Investment Board (PIB) plays an important role inmaintaining portfolio quality through its continued evaluation of ourprojects, designed to ensure that we are maximising the value of ourR&D investments. More detail relating to the PIB’s responsibilities canbe found in the Corporate Governance Report from page 99.Pipeline deliverySeveral milestones for products currently in development were passedin 2011. These are shown in the table overleaf and more informationabout these can be found in the Therapy Area Review from page 56.Of the 21 projects withdrawn in 2011, two were withdrawn followingfailure to obtain the required regulatory or marketing approvals forthe product candidate or the facilities in which it is manufacturedand 15 were withdrawn following poorer than anticipated safety orefficacy results. The remaining projects were withdrawn followingassessment of the projects against other product pipeline risk factorssuch as those detailed in the Principal risks and uncertainties sectionfrom page 130.Integrated R&D approachAs demonstrated by the Life-cycle of a medicine section on page10, our R&D activities span the entire life-cycle of a medicine. Ourapproach brings together drug discoverers and developers withineach iMed to focus and collaborate in specific disease areas, whilecontinuing to leverage our expertise in late stage development,product registration and life-cycle management. This new modelis designed to increase accountability and enhance scientificknowledge-sharing within therapeutic areas. In addition, our singleR&D strategy enables more effective and efficient delivery of ourresearch objectives across the therapeutic portfolio, regardlessof geography, disease area or stage of development.Business ReviewAstraZeneca Annual Report and Form 20-F Information 2011Delivering our strategy Research and Development 31