AstraZeneca freezes UK project while boosting US presence
Major pharma company puts its UK factory plans on pause due to state-aid discussions. Meanwhile company faces investigation troubles in China while announcing huge US market expansion
The pharma-giant AstraZeneca has stopped its plans for a £450m vaccine facility in Liverpool‚ while talks with government about funding continue. The company expected £90m in state-aid but new labour government wants to lower it to £40m (which comes after governments claim of £22bn budget problems inherited from previous leadership)
Aradhana Sarin the companys CFO stated about the project status:
Weʼre still in discussions with the Government to figure out what type of incentives there may be
While UK plans are on-hold the company announced a major US expansion - investing $3.5bn into research and manufacturing operations through 2026. Pascal Soriot the CEO praised US business climate saying its very attractive with good talent. The company will create 1000+ jobs there; however their £200m Cambridge science-hub expansion is still moving forward
The company faces some hard-to-handle situations in China. Their China president Leon Wang is being held by authorities‚ while four other executives (two current and two ex-ones) are under investigation. The issues include:
- illegal cancer drug imports
- medical insurance fraud claims
- personal data protection problems
- genetic test alterations for insurance coverage
The news comes as AstraZeneca reports a 19% rise in total revenue reaching $39.2bn for first three quarters of 2024. The CEO promised to work with Chinese authorities on resolving these matters
