Feb 8 Reuters AstraZeneca on Thursday forecast higher revenue and profit for 2024, betting on strong uptake of its infant RSV shot and resilient demand for its cancer and rare blood disorder drugs.

Almost a decade after AstraZeneca fended off a takeover by U.S. rival Pfizer, CEO Pascal Soriot, who took the helm in 2012, has rebuilt the AngloSwedish drugmaker39;s pipeline, including blockbusters such as lung cancer drug Tagrisso, leukaemia drug Calquence and Farxiga for diabetes.

Strong sales of AstraZeneca39;s cancer treatments and rare disease drugs, coupled with resilient demand in emerging markets, have since fuelled its growth.

The Londonlisted company said it expects total revenue and core earnings per share EPS to increase by a low doubledigit to low teens percentage this year.

For 2023, AstraZeneca reported revenue of 45.81 billion and core EPS of 7.26.

For the fourth quarter, it reported core EPS of 1.45 on total revenue of 12.02 billion. Analysts were expecting profit of 1.50 per share on revenue of 12.01 billion, according to a companycompiled consensus.

Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K

Source Reuters