Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca 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.

U.S.-listed shares of the company rose 4.34% in premarket trading.

Sales in the company's top business, oncology, grew 19% at constant currency rates to $5.33 billion and accounted for 41% of overall sales, while other divisions, such as rare diseases and respiratory and immunology, also raked in double-digit growth.

AstraZeneca's 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.