UK's biggest drugmakers see surprise profit bump, even as pharma grapples with U.S. policies

Pharma giants AstraZeneca and GSK , the U.K.'s second and ninth most valuable companies, both saw first-quarter profits beat expectations early Wednesday. AstraZeneca's core earnings per share came in at $2.58, while analysts polled by FactSet had expected $2.53. GSK's core EPS was £0.47 ($0.63) versus the expected £0.43, as per FactSet. It comes as an increasing number of pharma CEOs have warned that Europe could see fewer new drugs launched amid a push by U.S. …