London: British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca Nate said on Thursday Benefit 21 percent increase due to strong growth in the first three months of the year sales Of cancer drugs,

AstraZeneca said in a results statement that profit after tax rose by more than a fifth to $2.18 billion compared with the first quarter last year.

“AstraZeneca had a very strong start to 2024, reporting a 26 percent increase in revenue from oncology treatments,” Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said in the statement.

Total group sales rose 19 percent to $12.7 billion in the first quarter.

“Our strong pipeline momentum continued and already this year we announced positive trial results for Imfinzi and Tagrisso that were unprecedented in lung cancer,” Soriot said.

AstraZeneca’s share price jumped 5.7 per cent to £120 following the update.

“Cancer treatment sales remain bullish, generating two-fifths of total revenue in this latest quarter,” said Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Interactive Investor.

“Astra continues to seek new drug approvals, with sales diversifying based on geography, including growing sales in China, while 2021 focuses on acquisitions such as rare disease buyouts Alexion Has expanded its variety of drug treatments.”

In the first quarter the company agreed to buy U.S. biopharma firm Fusion for up to $2.4 billion, in its latest expansion into cancer treatments.

Fusion is developing next-generation radiotherapy to treat cancer through precise targeting that minimizes damage to healthy cells.

AstraZeneca’s latest push into oncology comes after its net profit nearly doubled to $6 billion last year, as a strong cancer division helped offset declining sales of its COVID treatments.

Also in the first quarter, the group struck a deal to buy French biotech specialist Ammolite Pharma for about $1 billion, strengthening its rare disease division Alexion.