AstraZeneca pauses £200m Cambridge investment

Astrazeneca paused the plans to invest £ 200 million in a Cambridge research site with a new blow to the UK pharmaceutical industry.

The project, which will create 1,000 business, was announced in March 2024 with another project in Liverpool, which was shelved by the previous government in January.

Friday’s announcement comes after USA Pharmaceutical Giant Merck scrapped the expansion of £ 1 billionPresident Donald Trump oppresses pharmaceutical companies to invest more in the United States.

An Astrazeneca spokesman: “We constantly re -evaluate our company’s investment needs and confirm that our expansion in Cambridge is paused.”

In the last 10 years, the United Kingdom pharmaceutical expenditures have fallen from 15% to 9% of the NHS budget, while the rest of the developed world is spending between 14% and 20%.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies want to invest in the United States after Trump’s high tariff threats on drug imports.

In July, Astrazeneca said that he will invest $ 50 billion ($ 36.9 billion) in the USA and “Drug Production and RAR -GE. [research and development]”.

In the beginning of this week, Merck, who started construction on a site that must be completed until 2027 in London’s King’s Cross, said he no longer plans to occupy it.

The multinational enterprise, known as MSD in Europe, said that it would carry the research of life sciences to the USA and will cut the British business and accuse developing governments for the value of innovative drugs.

Astrazeneca’s announcement on Friday, none £ 650 million in the UK Investment by the last government trumpet It will be currently.

The paused Cambridge project would already be the expansion of the current discovery center that has already hosted 2,300 researchers and scientists.

Stop comes after scrapping plans for investing £ 450 million to expand. Vaccine production facility in Merseyside In January, he accused a decrease in state support.

After the “long -lasting” talks at that time, he said that he had affected the movement, including the timing and reduction of the final proposal compared to the previous government’s proposal.

Subsequent British governments pointed to life sciences as one of the most successful industries.

Former Chancellor Jeremy sector said that the sector is “very important for the country’s health, wealth and flexibility”, while Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that Astrazeneca’s Liverpool expansion was one of the “big companies” days before scrapping the expansion of Liverpool.