AstraZeneca has paused a planned £200 million investment at its Cambridge research facility, which was part of a larger £650 million investment package announced earlier in March 2024. This delay affects potential job creation, as the halted project was expected to generate approximately 1,000 jobs. The decision follows AstraZeneca’s earlier cancellation of a £450 million investment in a vaccine manufacturing plant in Merseyside due to reduced government support.
An AstraZeneca spokesperson confirmed the company’s ongoing reassessment of its investment strategy but offered no further comments on the situation. This development highlights a contrast between AstraZeneca’s activities in the UK and its recent announcements in the United States, where the company plans to invest $50 billion (£37 billion) by 2030. This US investment includes the establishment of a new drug manufacturing facility in Virginia and expansions in several states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Indiana, and Texas.
The current pause on investments by AstraZeneca coincides with a series of setbacks in the UK pharmaceutical industry. Recently, US drugmaker Merck also cancelled a £1 billion London research center and announced layoffs of 125 employees, sparking concerns about the industry’s future in the UK. The planned UK Discovery Centre, which was under construction and scheduled to open in two years, would have employed around 800 people, including 180 scientists.
Sir John Bell, a noted scientist, indicated that many large pharmaceutical companies may halt their investments in the UK, having heard similar sentiments from various executives in recent months. Additionally, Paul Naish, the UK head of market access for Sanofi, stressed the need for a comprehensive plan from the Treasury regarding life sciences, stating that conditions in the UK have become less favorable for drug development and sales.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/sep/12/astrazeneca-pauses-200m-investment-in-cambridge-research-site