AstraZeneca has announced plans to invest £300 million in research and development facilities in Cambridge and Macclesfield, marking a significant reversal from its previous decision to pause investments in the UK. According to The Guardian, this investment includes completing the Rosalind Franklin building at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and constructing a new laboratory in Macclesfield that will utilize digital and data tools to advance drug development.
Key Takeaways
AstraZeneca announced a £300 million investment in UK research and development sites in Cambridge and Macclesfield. This decision follows a trade deal between the UK and US that addresses medicine pricing.
- AstraZeneca to invest £300M in UK drug development
- Investment includes completing Rosalind Franklin building in Cambridge and new lab in Macclesfield
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer calls it a 'major vote of confidence' in the UK economy
- Investment follows trade deal with US addressing medicine pricing
This move comes after a trade deal between the UK and US, which addresses medicine pricing and has been described as a 'major vote of confidence' in the UK economy by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Financial Times reports that AstraZeneca's chief executive, Pascal Soriot, stated that the company would invest $400 million to complete the Rosalind Franklin building and build the new laboratory in Macclesfield.
The investment is expected to future-proof thousands of jobs at both sites. Richard Torbett, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, highlighted this as part of a 'remarkable month for UK life sciences,' citing additional investments by other pharmaceutical companies such as Boehringer Ingelheim.
AstraZeneca had previously paused large-scale projects in the UK due to disagreements with the government over increased medicines spending. The recent trade deal includes measures to lift thresholds determining whether medicines are cost-effective for use on the National Health Service (NHS). This investment is part of a broader strategy by AstraZeneca, which also announced significant investments in the US and China.
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