Note: You have chosen a specific Nifty 200/NASDAQ company individually to study at

the beginning of the Term, the term ‘your company’ below refers to that firm.
Q1. Conduct an analysis of your company or any other listed company of your choice
from India/world market to answer the following questions. Duly mention the name of
the company at the beginning of the answer:-
a) Is the company the market leader in its domain? If Yes, then what is the competitive
advantage gap it has over the next competitor? If No, then where is it lagging behind
from the market leader?
AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company
with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. The
CEO of the company is Pascal Soriot.
AstraZeneca is not the market leader in the pharmaceutical segment. The market leaders of
this segment are Roche which is closely followed by Novartis by revenue.
Even though AstraZeneca has a strong R&D team and was one of the first companies to get
their COVID-19 vaccine approved in Europe, they are not the market leaders.
Roche is the market leader in the pharmaceutical industry and distinguishes itself because of
the development in biotechnology R&D and also because of its dominance in cancer
research. They have a large portfolio of drugs for cancer treatment, which treats breast
cancer, blood cancer etc which contribute to the majority of the sales the company gets. The
company also spends more on R&D than its immediate competitors and has about 14-15
biopharmaceutical drugs in the market.
AstraZeneca has gaps in the product range sold by the company. There were many cases in
which the company spend huge amount on research work to make drugs but failed to
successfully do it and ended up wasting huge resources and time in doing so. Even though,
they were the pioneers in making the vaccine against COVID-19, there were many
allegations that the company had done it too fast and did not have relevant data at hand to
make the vaccine public. So, it is important for the company to have a dedicated and strong
R&D team for them to become the market leader.
b) What is the state of the technology domain in which the company operates in terms
of its future, avenues for expansion of this technology, possibility of disruption?
AstraZeneca uses cutting edge technology in all their steps of research work. Some of the
technologies in place are –
Cryoelectronic Microscope – With the help of this microscope, it is possible to see the 3D
structure of complex proteins. It enables researchers to understand the biological functions of
proteins, how it functions and interacts with the candidate drugs. It is very helpful in drug
discovery as even the minute molecules and particles can be seen in high definition.
Advanced Molecular Imaging – With the help of this technology, it is possible for
researchers to analyse and probe into tissues to a large extent which will help in drug
discovery. AI and machine learning are used hand in hand to probe and understand how
different molecular reactions take place in the human body, this will help researchers to
create targeted and specific drugs which will not cause harm and will act upon the target cell
only.
Acoustic Tube Technology – This technology enables the company to handle and process
millions of compounds for biological screening with greater speed, accuracy, efficiency,
agility and sustainability.
AstraZeneca iLab – This lab which is present in Gothenburg, Sweden is a fully automated
medicinal chemistry laboratory in which AI, robotics and automation have bene intertwined
to increase the speed and efficiency of the drug discovery process and has the potential to
transform and revolutionize the entire process.
These are some of the technologies in place at AstraZeneca and it is safe to say that they have
state of the art facilities in place and are well on their way to become the market leader within
the next 5-10 years in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.
Q2. How your company is performing in the industry environment of its domain? How
your company has evolved vis-à-vis the competitors in terms of Innovation and Market
Share?
AstraZeneca is not the market leader in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. The
market leaders of this industry are Roche, Novartis, J&J etc.
Net earnings for J&J in the year 2020 was 14,714$ million. Net earnings for Roche was
around 7,506$ million and for AstraZeneca it was 4752$ million in the year 2020.
From these figures, it is apparent that the AstraZeneca company is not lagging behind its
immediate competitors a lot. It benefitted from the discovery of their Vaxzevria Vaccine,
which is used for COVID 19. They were one of the first companies to get the vaccines
approved in the EU. Even though the direct sales of the company did not increase
significantly as the company had agreed to produce vaccines nearly free of cost and sell to the
emerging and the developing economies, the technology that they have developed for this
vaccine can be used for other vaccines like for cancer treatment etc.
In terms of innovation, AstraZeneca is one among the best in the industry who have cutting
edge technology in place for drug discovery and is not far behind the immediate competitors.
So in conclusion, AstraZeneca is not lagging behind its competitors in terms of innovation
and market share and has the potential to become a market leader in 5-10 years.

Q3
Brands like Pepsi have been using real-time promotional strategies to communicate with their
customers since social media became popular. This has allowed them to instantly connect
with millions of individuals all around the world. They've also grown more conscientious
about their customer service and product quality, knowing that unfavorable comments and
news may quickly spread on social media and reach millions of people.

Focus on Digital Marketing

As crucial as it is to engage with customers online, having a sound digital marketing strategy
in place is equally critical. Pepsi's digital advertisements consistently create an impression on
their target market, which is one reason why they remain top of mind. For example, their 20-
minute-long "Bring Home Happiness" campaign became viral, with over a billion people
watching it.

So, while Pepsi uses social media to engage with customers, it's crucial to highlight that they
also use the power that it provides to conduct their campaigns. In today's world, it's critical to
cultivate consumer loyalty and involvement.

Pepsi also continues to invest in the packaging and quality of its goods in order to maintain
its position as a top-of-mind brand. They've also increased the number of nutritional options
available to their health-conscious customers. Their varied product offering, which includes a
wide range of delectable and nutritious flavors and options, is all part of their excellent
marketing approach.

As Pepsi continues to develop, its packaging and quality should be highlighted. Regularly
updating their designs has helped them keep their clients satisfied while also attracting new
ones. They do this because they know that having more options and appealing bundles will
help them sell more.

Choose Good Sponsorships

Pepsi relies significantly on partnerships and sponsorships for brand exposure in addition to
its promotional initiatives. They put a lot of money into sports marketing, working with
various sports organizations all around the world to advertise themselves in key areas. They
collaborated with the National Basketball Association in 2015, for example (NBA). They
teamed up with India's Board of Control for Cricket in 2016. In 2017, they collaborated for
the second time with the UEFA Champions League to promote several of their businesses.

Without a doubt, there is a lot of competition today, therefore it's crucial to keep developing
and experimenting as time passes. Pepsi excels at this, evolving with the times and tailoring
product offerings to meet the needs and finances of each new generation. It's no longer
enough to devise tactics and hope for the best. If you want to expand and flourish like Pepsi,
you must increase your aggressiveness and work tirelessly to keep ahead of the competition.