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Astrazeneca is withdrawing its plans to build a vaccine manufacturing plant of £ 450 million in the United Kingdom after months of disputes with British officials on state investment for the Merseyside project, in a large blow to the government of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The officials presented a reviewed financial support offer for the Speke site this month that was significantly higher than the £ 40 million they offered last year, people with knowledge of the arrangements said.
The Starmer Labor Government sought last summer to reduce the amount of state support provided to the project of approximately 90 million to £ 40 million, according to People informed about the matter.
“After the prolonged discussions with the government, we are no longer pursuing our planned investment in Speke,” said Astrazeneca in a statement on Friday. “Several factors have influenced this decision, including the moment and the reduction of the final offer compared to the proposal of the previous government.”
The existing Speke site will continue to produce and supply the flu vaccine, the company said.
The previous offer of former Conservative Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt Said the people.
The Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
People close to the pharmaceutical company said they were watching other possible manufacturing sites.
The drug manufacturer, the largest company in the United Kingdom by market capitalization, has “deeply” deepened “with the United Kingdom government, said another person, with Speke only one point of tension in a broader shock in the industry about the prices of medicines and the future of investment in life sciences.
In November, Astrazeneca said he planned to invest $ 3.5 billion in research and development and manufacturing in the United States, the world’s largest pharmaceutical market, which generates 44 percent of the company’s sales.
The executive director of Astrazeneca, Pascal Soriot, said at that time that the investment reflected “the attractiveness of the business environment along with the quality of talent and innovation capacities.”
The company is also planning a $ 1.5 billion manufacturing installation in Singapore, and last week promised an investment of $ 560 million in Canada.
It is not suggested that your decision in the Speke installation affects any of Astrazeneca’s other investments in the United Kingdom, people with knowledge of the business said.
In March, the then conservative government of the United Kingdom said that Astrazeneca would invest £ 450 million in research, development and manufacture of new vaccines in Speke.
Financial Times reported at the time the company sought to ensure up to £ 100 million in state support.
