AstraZeneca shareholders urged to oppose pay plan for CEO Soriot

Shareholder advisory groups say potential £18.7mn payout is excessive

AstraZeneca’s plan to pay chief executive Pascal Soriot up to £18.7mn has been branded “excessive” by two influential shareholder advisers, saying his remuneration was already competitive versus international peers.

The drugmaker last month set out its pay proposal for Soriot, who will need to hit a series of targets, including for new drug approvals, earnings per share and total sales, to receive the maximum sum for his performance this year.

Since taking the helm in 2012, Soriot has turned AstraZeneca into the second-largest company on the FTSE 100 index behind Shell. The 64-year-old was handed £16.9mn last year after hitting most long-term targets, making him one of the best-paid CEOs on the blue-chip index.

When it outlined the case for lifting his potential payout in its annual report, AstraZeneca said the increase was “material if viewed in a UK context” but “the changes are necessary to increase the competitiveness” versus US and European peers.

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UK pharma group’s chief has a fresh challenge — persuading investors that its best days are not behind it
AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot would have been forgiven for waving a big “I told you so” sign. In February, the UK pharmaceuticals company hit a long-term sales target that once seemed out of reach.

Soriot set the goal to reach $45bn in sales by 2023 a decade ago, as part of its campaign to see off a £69.4bn hostile pursuit from US rival Pfizer. Back then AstraZeneca’s revenues were $26bn. It faced patent expiries on several former blockbuster medicines; its pipeline was weak.

Infecção por VSR cresce 45,7% em 8 dias em SP

O outono e o inverno são marcados pelo aumento de infecções respiratórias. Em crianças, principalmente menores de dois anos, os pais devem ter atenção redobrada com o VSR (vírus sincicial respiratório). Este vírus é responsável por 75% das bronquiolites e 40% das pneumonias nos pequenos, segundo especialistas.

A bronquiolite é uma infecção nos bronquíolos, que levam o ar aos pulmões. A doença começa com um resfriado comum, mas tem possibilidade de agravamento. Os sinais são tosse persistente, febre alta, chiado no peito, dificuldade respiratória, e lábios e unhas arroxeados.

“Há outros vírus que causam a mesma doença. A bronquiolite pode ser causada pelo parainfluenza, até pelo vírus influenza, que podem dar um quadro semelhante. A grande maioria é pelo vírus sincicial. Em uma criança com quadro de bronquiolite e falta de ar, a chance de ser vírus sincicial respiratório é de 70% a 80%”, destaca Renato Kfouri, pediatra infectologista e presidente do Departamento de Imunizações da Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria.