Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. Rear Admiral David Farragut’s order to the Union fleet upon entering mine-strewn Mobile Bay could just as well be the rallying cry for AstraZeneca, the UK drugmaker. Like its bigger rival, GlaxoSmithKline, AZ intends to sit out the industry’s round of mega-mergers. Already the world’s fifth biggest drugmaker by market capitalisation, and with plans for 15,000 job cuts by 2013, it sees few benefits to greater scale.

Furthermore, unlike its rivals, AZ has also avoided diversifying beyond its research-driven business model. Rather than move into dermatology treatments, like GSK, or eyecare, like Novartis, AZ wants to make up for a dearth of promising new drugs by improving research and development. That is risky. Drug development is getting harder and more expensive. Moreover, AZ faces the biggest patent cliff of any of its peers. By 2014, expiring patents could chop 30 per cent off this year’s forecast $30.5bn in sales, Credit Suisse estimates.