AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company, has outlined plans to invest £650m in the UK.
Specifically, AstraZeneca intends to invest £450m in its manufacturing site in Speke, Liverpool, for the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines.
This cash injection into AstraZeneca’s Liverpool site will build on the facility’s current role in supplying the world leading childhood vaccination programme.
The new facility will be designed and built to be operationally net zero with power supplied from renewable energy sources.
In a further boost for the UK’s resilience for future pandemics and global health threats, AstraZeneca and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) plan to work in partnership to advance science for developing and evaluating vaccines.
AstraZeneca intends to invest £450m in research to develop and manufacture vaccines in Liverpool
AstraZeneca’s manufacturing site in Liverpool will contribute technology and the UKHSA’s Vaccine Development Evaluation Centre (VDEC) will also contribute technology from its Porton Down site in Wiltshire, England.
Further, AstraZeneca will also expand its presence at Europe’s largest life sciences cluster in Cambridge with £200m in investment.
The facility will house around 1,000 employees and will be adjacent to its £1.1bn global R&D Discovery Centre (DISC), which already hosts 2,300 researchers and scientists.
The company will also open a new manufacturing facility for one of its cancer medicines in Macclesfield later this year, following the announcement of a £380m investment in 2021.
Sir Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer, said: “AstraZeneca’s planned investment would enhance the UK’s pandemic preparedness and demonstrates our ongoing confidence in UK life sciences.”
AstraZeneca’s planned investment would enhance the UK’s pandemic preparedness
“We will continue to support the UK in driving innovation and patient access, building on the strong foundations which have been put in place,” Soriot concluded.
Victoria Atkins, Health and Social Care Secretary, said: “The UK is a global leader in the research and development of life saving vaccines.
“Today’s announcement is a testament to this country’s Life Science capabilities – and our continued commitment to pandemic preparedness and global health,” Atkins concluded.
AstraZeneca’s investment decision is contingent upon mutual agreement with the UK Government and third parties, and successful completion of regulatory processes.
Any final commitment is not solely subject to AstraZeneca’s discretion.
