AstraZeneca PLC — Report Publication Announcement 2012

Mar 19, 2012

Dear Shareholder

On behalf of the Board of AstraZeneca PLC (the Company), I am pleased to confirm that the Annual Report and Form 20-F Information 2011 (the Annual Report) has now been published, as well as the Notice of Annual General Meeting 2012 and Shareholders' Circular (the Notice of AGM).

What you should have received

If you have previously requested paper copies of these documents, or you became a shareholder of the Company after 29 November 2011, you will find paper copies enclosed with this pack.

If you have previously elected to receive these documents via the AstraZeneca website, you can now access the Annual Report at astrazeneca.com/annualreport2011 and the Notice of AGM at astrazeneca. com/noticeofmeeting2012.

Everyone who receives this letter will also find a proxy card and AstraZeneca 2011 In Brief enclosed.

AstraZeneca 2011 In Brief

In AstraZeneca 2011 In Brief, you will find selected extracts from the Annual Report. These extracts have been taken without material adjustment and include information about AstraZeneca and a summary of our performance in 2011, as well as dividend information. This year we have also included some examples of what we are doing around the world to make a meaningful difference to patient health.

While I very much hope that you will find the AstraZeneca 2011 In Brief document interesting and a convenient way to keep you informed about the Company, you should be aware that the document is only intended to introduce the information contained in the Annual Report. Consequently, it should not be read as a substitute for the Annual Report itself which remains the most comprehensive current source of information about the Company. You can find the Annual Report on our website, astrazeneca.com/ annualreport2011.

Communicating with you

I would urge shareholders to consider opting to receive all future information from the Company in electronic format. There are clear environmental benefits and cost savings arising from reduced paper usage, printing and distribution if you do so.

You can do this by registering your details at shareview.co.uk and electing for e-communications. Whenever shareholder communications are published, we will send you an email with a link to the information on the AstraZeneca website.

If you have received the Annual Report and the Notice of AGM in paper format with this letter, and you wish to continue to receive these documents in paper format in the future, then you need take no further action.

Please note that dividend notifications will continue to be sent to all shareholders by post.

Further information

More information for shareholders is on the back of this letter.

Yours faithfully

Louis Schweitzer Chairman 19 March 2012

Dividends and other important information for shareholders

Dividend payment and dates

The record date for the second interim dividend for 2011, payable on 19 March 2012, is 17 February 2012 and the ex-dividend date is 15 February 2012. The record date for the first interim dividend for 2012, payable on 10 September 2012, is 10 August 2012. Future dividends will normally be paid as follows:

First interim: Announced in July and paid in September. Second interim: Announced in January and paid in March.

Shareview

The Company's shareholders with internet access may visit the website, shareview.co.uk, and register their details to create a portfolio. Shareview is a free and secure online service from the Company's registrars, Equiniti Limited, which gives access to shareholdings, including balance movements, indicative share prices and information about recent dividends.

ShareGift

The Company welcomes and values all of its shareholders, no matter how many or how few shares they own. However, shareholders who have only a small number of shares whose value makes it uneconomic to sell them, either now or at some stage in the future, may wish to consider donating them to charity through ShareGift, an independent charity share donation scheme. One feature of the scheme is that there is no gain or loss for UK capital gains tax purposes on gifts of shares through ShareGift, and it may now also be possible to obtain UK income tax relief on the donation. Further information about ShareGift can be found on its website, sharegift.org, or by contacting ShareGift on 020 7930 3737 or at 17 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH. ShareGift is administered by The Orr Mackintosh Foundation, registered charity number 1052686. More information about the UK tax position on gifts of shares to ShareGift can be obtained from HM Revenue & Customs on their website, hmrc.gov.uk.

The Unclaimed Assets Register

The Company supplies unclaimed dividend data to the Unclaimed Assets Register (UAR), which provides investors who have lost track of shareholdings with an opportunity to search the UAR's database of unclaimed financial assets on payment of a small fixed fee. The UAR donates part of the search fee to charity. The UAR can be contacted on 0870 241 1713 or at PO Box 9501, Nottingham NG80 1WD.

Results

Unaudited trading results of AstraZeneca in respect of the first three months of 2012 will be published on 26 April 2012 and results in respect of the first six months of 2012 will be published on 26 July 2012.

Our website

This letter is also available on our website, astrazeneca.com/shareholderletter2011.

Registered office and

corporate headquarters AstraZeneca PLC 2 Kingdom Street London W2 6BD UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 7604 8000 Fax: +44 (0)20 7604 8151

Investor relations

Email: ir@astrazeneca.com UK: as above

Sweden: Investor Relations AstraZeneca AB SE-151 85 Södertälje Sweden

Tel: +46 (0)8 553 260 00 Fax: +46 (0)8 553 290 00 US: Investor Relations AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP 1800 Concord Pike PO Box 15437 Wilmington DE 19850-5437 US

Tel: +1 (302) 886 3000 Fax: +1 (302) 886 2972

Registrar

Equiniti Limited Aspect House Spencer Road Lancing West Sussex BN99 6DA UK

Tel (freephone in the UK): 0800 389 1580

Tel (outside the UK): +44 (0)121 415 7033 Swedish Central Securities Depository

Euroclear Sweden AB PO Box 191 SE-101 23 Stockholm Sweden

Tel: +46 (0)8 402 9000

US Depositary

JPMorgan Chase & Co PO Box 64504 St Paul MN 55164-0504 US

Tel (toll free in the US): 888 697 8018

Tel (outside the US): +1 (651) 453 2128

Email: jpmorgan.adr@wellsfargo.com