AstraZeneca chief executive receives nine million pound pay package

AstraZeneca chief executive David Brennan saw his total pay exceed nine million pounds last year, the company's annual report has revealed.

Mr Brennan's basic salary increased by 2.5 percent to 997,223 pounds in 2011, but was then further bolstered by various bonuses and share awards.

As a result, his total pay package as reported by AstraZeneca was 3.37 million pounds and he also received a share award of 5.6 million pounds from 2008, which was released last year.

AstraZeneca reported a two percent drop in revenues to 21.1 billion pounds for 2011, while pre-tax profits declined by four percent to 8.4 billion pounds.

Revenue was down 11 percent in western Europe, but rose by ten percent in emerging markets.

Last week, a US court rejected the firm's attempt to delay generic competition to its lucrative drug Seroquel, which is used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The company is the UK's second largest pharmaceutical firm, with 8,000 members of staff based in the country.