The 1999 merger of Astra AB and Zeneca Group formed AstraZeneca. The companies announced the agreement in June 1998, and the merger was completed in April 1999, creating a major international pharmaceutical company.
Astra was founded in Sweden in 1913, while Zeneca had been created in 1993 through the demerger of the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and specialty-chemical businesses of Imperial Chemical Industries. The merger combined Astra’s research and medicines with Zeneca’s international commercial organization and product portfolio.
AstraZeneca became incorporated in the United Kingdom and maintained major operations in both Sweden and Britain. Its later medicines included treatments in areas such as respiratory disease, cancer and cardiovascular conditions.
This merger is often mixed up with the 2000 combination of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham, which produced GSK. AstraZeneca was instead the direct result of the earlier Astra–Zeneca pairing, and its name preserves both predecessor identities.