Yahoo Finance AstraZeneca to build £450m vaccine hub in Liverpool in boost for UK
AstraZeneca is to spend £650m on building a new vaccine factory in Liverpool and upgrading research labs in Cambridge almost a year after its chief executive said Rishi Sunak’s policies were discouraging investment in the UK.
The pharmaceutical giant said it will spend £450m on vaccine production in Speke, Liverpool, building a new green factory which will be powered by renewable energy.
It plans to invest a further £200m on expanding its presence at its life sciences cluster in Cambridge, with a new facility next to its existing research labs.
AstraZeneca is currently in talks with ministers over government funding which could be in excess of £100m.
It comes after Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s chief executive, said last year that the company had snubbed Britain for a planned $400m (£314m) new drug factory because of “discouraging” taxes.
He claimed AstraZeneca had wanted to open a new state-of-the-art plant near its existing manufacturing sites near Speke, Liverpool, but had instead opted for Ireland.
He said in February last year: “We really have invested a lot [in the UK] and the country was making a lot of progress in building a life sciences sector. But, I have to say in the recent past, it’s not been as supportive as we would have thought.”
Meanwhile, the boss of rival GSK warned Britain was “at a tipping point” over its ambitions to become a life science superpower amid concerns over soaring costs for pharma companies.
Mr Soriot recently signalled that Britain is moving in the right direction in becoming a better place for business to invest. AstraZeneca is one of Britain’s biggest companies and played a crucial role developing Covid vaccines during the pandemic.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Soriot said: “AstraZeneca’s planned investment would enhance the UK’s pandemic preparedness and demonstrates our ongoing confidence in UK life sciences.
“We will continue to support the UK in driving innovation and patient access, building on the strong foundations which have been put in place.”
Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, said: “We are sticking to our plan to make the UK one of the best places in the world to invest in developing and manufacturing new, innovative medicines – both protecting public health and growing our economy.
“AstraZeneca’s investment plans are a vote of confidence in the attractiveness of the UK as a life sciences superpower and strengthen our resilience for future health emergencies.”
