July 25 (Reuters) - Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca ( AZN )

on Thursday raised its sales and profit forecast for

2024 and topped analyst expectations for second-quarter revenue,

buoyed by demand for its therapies for cancer and rare diseases.

Sales in the company's top business, oncology, grew 19% at

constant currency rates to $5.33 billion and accounted for 41%

of the total, while other divisions, such as rare diseases and

respiratory and immunology, also raked in double-digit growth.

AstraZeneca's ( AZN ) drug pipeline has evolved significantly under

CEO Pascal Soriot since he took over more than a decade ago, and

new technologies such as antibody-drug conjugates are making up

a rising proportion of its portfolio of future cancer therapies.

"In the year to date we have continued to make encouraging

progress with several disruptive technologies ... all of which

have the potential to drive our growth beyond 2030," CEO Soriot

said.

AstraZeneca ( AZN ) now expects both 2024 revenue and core earnings

per share to increase by a mid-teens percentage at constant

currency rates.

The company previously expected revenue and profit to

increase by a low double-digit to low-teens percentage.

Analysts, on average, currently expect 2024 EPS of $8.11

and revenue of $51.62 billion - translating to growth of about

11.7% and 12.7%, respectively, according to LSEG IBES data.

Total revenue rose 17% on a constant-currency basis to

$12.94 billion for the three months ended June, while core

earnings came in at $1.98 per share for the largest

London-listed company by market value.

Analysts, on average, were expecting profit of $1.98 per

share on revenue of $12.6 billion for the quarter, according to

a company-compiled consensus.