Exhibit 4.9

Rules of the AstraZeneca SharePlus Plan

Adopted by RemCo on 8 August 2025 and amended on 11 December 2025.

AstraZeneca SharePlus Plan (the AZ SharePlus Plan)

What is the AZ SharePlus Plan and how can you participate?

The AZ SharePlus Plan is a global employee share purchase plan. It allows eligible employees of AZ to receive shares in AstraZeneca PLC. If AZ invites you to participate in the AZ SharePlus Plan, you may be:

When do you take ownership of shares?

If you accept an invitation to participate in the AZ SharePlus Plan and complete the enrolment process, you will make contributions that are deducted from your net pay via payroll, where this is possible. Those contributions will then be used to make a market purchase of AstraZeneca PLC shares (Investment Shares).

The Investment Shares have a holding period from the date of purchase of one year or another length determined by RemCo. At the time you acquire Investment Shares, you will also be granted a Bonus Award in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) (Bonus Shares). The Bonus Award will be calculated as a percentage of your Investment Shares and will have a one year vesting period. At the end of the vesting period, the Bonus Award will be converted to Bonus Shares and will be delivered (after withholdings for tax).

If you choose to sell your Investment Shares during the one year holding period, you will forfeit any associated Bonus Award.

What happens if you leave AZ?

If you leave AZ, you will keep the Investment Shares already purchased and the holding period will expire. Unless you are dismissed for gross misconduct (or equivalent misconduct within your jurisdiction that would entitle AZ to terminate your employment without notice or pay in lieu thereof), your granted but unvested Bonus Awards will accelerate and you will receive Bonus Shares on a pro-rated basis according to the proportion of the vesting period that has expired.

If you leave AZ before the purchase of your Investment Shares, the purchase of Investment Shares will go ahead using the contributions you made to the AZ SharePlus Plan before your leaving date. No holding period will apply to the Investment Shares but you will not be granted a Bonus Award.

Once you leave AZ, you cannot make any further contributions to the AZ SharePlus Plan.

What happens on a change of control of AZ?

If there is a change of control of AZ, any holding period will end early and the Investment Shares and Bonus Shares will be released at the date of the change of control.

If a change of control will occur before the scheduled purchase of Investment Shares, Investment Shares will be purchased early using the contributions made through to the change of control and a Bonus Award will be granted which will vest at the date of the change of control.

What about dividends?

Dividends will be paid on Investment Shares (and Bonus Shares once the Bonus Award has vested) in the ordinary course and, for so long as they are held by the Nominee, will be reinvested in additional Shares (Dividend Shares).

Unvested Bonus Awards do not attract dividends or dividend equivalents.

General

The shares are personal and may not be transferred or charged until the holding period has expired. The awards do not form part of your terms and conditions of employment and are not pensionable.

You may be required to accept the grant of an award and agree to certain terms.

This summary does not form part of the Rules of the AZ SharePlus Plan. The Rules of the AZ SharePlus Plan are set out in the following pages and will govern how the Investment Shares, Bonus Award and Bonus Shares are treated. Definitions and interpretation provisions are at ‎Appendix 1.

This summary is an overview. Depending on the jurisdiction in which you are resident, the AZ SharePlus Plan may operate differently or your shares may be subject to special terms.

Rules of the AstraZeneca SharePlus Plan

Payroll Contributions

Other Contributions

Changing Contributions, Stopping Contributions and Withdrawing Contributions

Bonus Percentage X the number of Investment Shares you acquired on the applicable Purchase Date.

For the purpose of this paragraph, references to member of the AZ Group include a former member of the AZ Group.

the Holding Period in respect of your Investment Shares shall be deemed expired and your Bonus Award shall Vest on the date of the Change of Control Event.

Appendix 1

Definitions and Interpretation

Award means a Bonus Award and/or an award of Investment Shares;

AZ means AstraZeneca PLC (registered number 2723534);

AZ Group means AZ and any subsidiary, holding company or subsidiary of a holding company of AZ (as each term is defined in section 1159 Companies Act 2006);

Base Pay means basic salary or any such remuneration paid or made available by an employing company as determined by the RemCo generally or on an individual country basis;

Bonus Award means an award of Bonus Shares granted or proposed to be granted under Rule ‎5;

Bonus Percentage means the percentage specified in the invitation to join the Plan to determine the number of Bonus Shares under a Bonus Award relative to the number of Investment Shares acquired;

Bonus Shares means Shares acquired on vesting of a Bonus Award;

Business Day means a day on which the New York Stock Exchange (or, if relevant and if RemCo determines, any stock exchange nominated by RemCo on which the Shares are traded) is open for the transaction of business;

Contribution Period means the period to the Purchase Date during which Contributions may be made to the Plan;

Contributions means Payroll Contributions or Other Contributions;

Control shall have the meaning given in section 995 Income Tax Act 2007;

Dealing Restrictions means AZ’s code for dealing in shares by its directors and applicable employees (as amended from time to time) in accordance with relevant legislation or regulation and any other agreement, arrangement, contract or code adopted or entered into by AZ containing provisions similar in purpose and effect;

DI means a depositary interest issued through CREST representing a beneficial interest in an ordinary share in the capital of AZ;

Eligible Employee means any person who at a Grant Date is:

Employment means employment as an employee of any member of the AZ Group;

Gross Misconduct means, except for participants who are resident of Canada, any act or omission that would entitle AZ to terminate your Employment immediately and with no liability to make any further payment to you (other than in respect of amounts accrued due at the date of termination). For participants who are resident of Canada, Gross Misconduct means (i) the same as ‘Cause’ (or words of like import) in a written employment agreement between you and the applicable AZ Group entity, which contains an enforceable contractual termination provision (the “Employment Agreement”), or (ii) if you are not subject to such an Employment Agreement, (a) if you are employed in Ontario or Nova Scotia, your wilful misconduct, disobedience or wilful neglect of duty that is not trivial and has not been condoned by the applicable AZ Group entity; or (b) if you are employed in any other province in Canada, any other act or omission or series of acts or omissions by you that would, pursuant to applicable law, permit the applicable AZ Group entity to terminate your employment without notice or payment in lieu of notice, including for serious reason.

Holding Period means the period from the Purchase Date to the Vesting Date, or such other period as RemCo may determine which may not be less than three months or more than two years, during which you cannot dispose of the Investment Shares;

Investment Shares means Shares which are acquired on your behalf using your Contributions;

Market Value means, in relation to an ordinary share on any day, an amount equal to the average of the middle market closing prices of a Share (as derived from the New York Stock Exchange Listings Directory) on the three consecutive Dealing Days preceding that day (or such other Dealing Day or Dealing Days as RemCo may decide) or, in the case of a DI, by reference to the average of the equivalent price of a DI as derived from the Daily Official List of the London Stock Exchange plc on trading days as close as possible to those Dealing Days. In the event that the ordinary shares cease to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange and are admitted to trading on a replacement market, references to the New York Stock Exchange shall be construed as references to the equivalent of such replacement market. In the event that DIs cease to be traded on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and are admitted to trading on a replacement market, references to the London Stock Exchange shall be construed as references to such replacement market;

Payroll Contributions means regular deductions from Base Pay for the purpose of acquiring Investment Shares;

Nominee means the registered holder of the Investment Shares, Bonus Shares and Dividend Shares appointed by AZ or the AZ Group for the purpose of the Plan;

Other Contributions means monthly cash or other payments for the purpose of acquiring Investment Shares on such terms as the RemCo determines;

Plan means the AstraZeneca SharePlus Plan constituted by these Rules;

Purchase Date means the date(s) specified in the invitation to join the Plan on which Investment Shares will be purchased;

Restricted Person means any person who is classified as a restricted person, a permanent insider, a PDMR, a person with access to inside information or any other person who is restricted from dealing in Shares by any Dealing Restriction;

Rules means the rules of this Plan as set out in this document, and “Rule” shall be construed accordingly;

RemCo means the duly authorised remuneration committee of the board of directors of AZ;

Share means a fully paid ordinary share in the capital of AZ or, where the context requires it, an equivalent number of DIs;

Tax Liabilities means any income tax, national insurance contributions, social security charges or similar taxes or charges imposed in any jurisdiction for which AZ or any member of the AZ Group is required to account;

Variation means a capitalisation issue, rights issue, subdivision, consolidation, reduction, or any other variation in the capital of AZ;

Vesting means you becoming entitled to have the Shares subject to a Bonus Award transferred to you subject to the Plan, and “Vest”, and “Vested” shall be construed accordingly; and

Vesting Date means the date on which a Bonus Award will vest which will, unless the RemCo determines otherwise and provides for such differing Vesting Date in the invitation for any Eligible Employee, be the first anniversary of the Purchase Date, and “Vesting Period” shall be construed accordingly.

Interpretation

Headings are for convenience only. Words in the singular include the plural and vice versa and words importing gender include both genders. Reference to statutory provisions include amendments, extensions or re-enactments and equivalent legislation in any country other than England, and include any regulations or subordinate legislation made under them.

Appendix 2

Schedule for US Participants

This Appendix 2 (“Appendix 2”) modifies the Rules of the Plan in respect of any Awards granted under it to Eligible Employees who are resident in the U.S. or who are otherwise subject to U.S. taxation. Capitalized terms not defined in Appendix 2 will have the same meaning ascribed to them in the Plan and Appendix 1. To the extent there is any conflict between the Plan and Appendix 2, the terms of Appendix 2 shall prevail.

“For any Plan Year for which you will be invited to join the Plan, you will be provided with an invitation in the calendar year prior to the calendar year in which such Plan Year begins. If you choose to accept such invitation, you must accept such invitation and elect your monthly Contribution amount and the amount of any Other Contributions, in each case, no later than the end of the calendar year in which you were provided the invitation. Your participation will continue until such time as you notify AZ that you wish to withdraw from the Plan or your Employment ends.”

“the applicable deadline for your election to join the Plan and determine the Contribution amount.”

“In no event shall the Bonus Shares be so transferred later than the end of the calendar year in which the applicable Vesting Date occurs, notwithstanding any delays contemplated in Rule ‎5.4. If the RemCo determines that the Bonus Shares cannot be transferred by this deadline, including due to the reasons set forth in Rule ‎5.4, your Bonus Award will be satisfied by the payment to you of a cash sum equal to the Market Value of the Bonus Shares that vested in that calendar year (converted into your relevant payroll currency at an appropriate spot rate) less deductions for Tax Liabilities.”

“If your employment ends, all of your vested Shares will be transferred to you or your nominee as soon as practicable following but no later than the end of the calendar year in which your Employment ends.”

“For the purposes of this Rule ‎8, if you are on an authorized leave of absence pursuant to an AZ policy or a legal entitlement, you will end Employment on the expiration of the six-month term beginning with the first day of such leave of absence, unless (i) you have a statutory or contractual right to return to work following such six-month period, in which case, your Employment will not end until you cease to have such statutory or contractual right, or (ii) you are on leave due to Disability, in which case, your Employment will not end until the earlier of (a) the 29-month anniversary of the start of such leave of absence and (b) the day that you or your employer terminates the employment relationship.”

“Disability means any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than six months, where such impairment causes you to be unable to perform the duties of your position of employment or any substantially similar position of employment.”

“15. Section 409A of the Code