AstraZeneca PLC to Axe 7,300 Jobs in Global Restructuring

Drug maker AstraZeneca PLC said it will cut another 7,300 jobs as it warned Thursday of a tough year ahead, due to government spending cuts on healthcare and stiff competition, even as it reported a 24 percent increase in 2011 profits. The Anglo-Swedish company said its full-year profit was $10 billion, up from $8.1 billion a year earlier. The profit advance was helped heavily by a $1.5 billion gain from the sale of its dental subsidiary, Astra Tech. The company said revenue this year will be hit by government interventions on prices, generic competition and the loss of exclusivity for Seroquel IR, a drug for the treatment of depression, and hypertension drug Atacand in global markets.