“Of these savings, approximately $500 million identified in R&D will be reinvested in the pipeline, which we expect by the end of 2026.”

In context

“e years, partially offset by the aforementioned 3SBio acquired in-process R&D charge. We continue to be disciplined with expense management, progressing multiple cost improvement programs as we remained focused on driving operating margin expansion over the coming years. Phase 1 of the manufacturing optimization program contributed savings in the third quarter. In addition, we remain on track to deliver on our goal of at least $4.5 billion in cumulative net cost savings from our ongoing cost realignment program by the end of this year. As a reminder, in total for these programs, we expect approximately $7.7 billion in savings by the end of '27 to drive operational efficiencies, strengthening our business with the potential of contributing significantly to our bottom line over this period. Of these savings, approximately $500 million identified in R&D will be reinvested in the pipeline, which we expect by the end of 2026. With that, now let me quickly touch upon our capital allocation, which is designed to enhance long-term shareholder value. Our strategy consists of maintaining and growing our dividend over time, reinvesting in our business at the appropriate level of financial returns and making value-enhancing share repurchases. In the first 9 months of this year, we returned $7.3 billion to shareholders via our quarterly dividend, invested $7.2 billion in internal R&D and invested approximately $1.6 billion in business development transactions, primarily reflecting the 3SBio licensing deal. As a reminder, our business development capacity after the 3SBio deal is approximately $13 billion. In the third quarter, we announced the planned acquisition of Metsera for approximately $4.9 billion with additiona”