AstraZeneca has published a new set of figures revealing a sales hike of ten per cent to $1.24 billion (0.6 billion) in the first quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, pre-tax profits were up 12 per cent to $2.65 billion, although this figure does not include restructuring costs associated with the takeover of biotech group MedImmune.

AstraZeneca, which has a massive research and development (R&D) base in Cheshire, attributes this growth to "continued efficiencies".

David Brennan, the chief executive of AstraZeneca, believes that earnings growth is on track to meet full-year expectations.

The quarterly report also says that the R&D organisation, in collaboration with Cognizant, is now "actively involved" in the provision of centralised data management services for the whole of AstraZeneca Clinical Development.

This agreement is the largest contract of its kind in the pharmaceutical industry and will help deliver economies of scale and cost savings.

AstraZeneca's Cheshire base is the company's largest R&D facility and is responsible for significant advances in cancer therapy.