AstraZeneca to Invest $826.80 Mn in UK to boost Pandemic Preparedness

To boost UK’s resilience for future pandemics and global health threats, AstraZeneca and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) plan to work in partnership.

AstraZeneca plans to invest $826.80 million (£650 million) in Britain to boost the country’s life sciences sector thereby enhancing public health protection and pandemic preparedness.

As per the deal, AstraZeneca will spend £450 million to research, develop, and manufacture vaccines in Speke, Liverpool, a facility that will be operationally net zero with power supplied from renewable energy sources.

While another £200 million investment is to expand the drugmaker’s footprint in Cambridge, with a new facility next to its existing research labs.

Sharing thoughts, Sir Pascal Soriot, CEO, AstraZeneca, said, “The planned investment is expected to enhance the UK’s pandemic preparedness and demonstrates our ongoing confidence in UK life sciences,"

He further added that AstraZeneca will continue to support the UK in driving innovation and patient access, building on the strong foundations that have been put in place.

AstraZeneca & UKHSA Partnership

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.

The collaboration seeks to advance science for developing and evaluating vaccines using technology from both AstraZeneca’s manufacturing site in Speke and the UKHSA’s Vaccine Development Evaluation Centre (VDEC) at their Porton Down site.

On the partnership, Dr Isabel Oliver, chief scientific office, UK Health Security Agency, said, "This investment will bolster the development of the UK's vaccine capabilities and life sciences sector - critical components of the country's resilience to future health threats."

Vote of Confidence in Britain Life Sciences

The investment is a step change after Soriot shifted a planned new manufacturing plant to Ireland last year, saying that Britain's business climate had deterred biopharma firms from investing in the country.

On the deal, Jeremy Hunt, chancellor of the exchequer, UK, said, "AstraZeneca's investment plans ahre a vote of confidence in the attractiveness of the UK as a life sciences superpower and strengthen our resilience for future health emergencies."

In a statement, the Treasury said the investment needed the agreement of the UK Government and "third parties" and depended on the "successful completion of regulatory processes".

Reportedly, AstraZeneca is currently in talks with ministers over government funding which could be over £100 million.

Moreover, the pharmaceutical giant already develops jabs for children in Speke while the investment in Cambridge will support 1,000 jobs at a facility alongside its £1.1billion global R&D center that houses 2,300 researchers and scientists.

It is also planning to open a manufacturing site for one of its cancer medicines in Macclesfield this year following the announcement of a £380 million investment in 2021.

In December 2020, the UK was the first country to approve the coronavirus vaccine developed jointly by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.

Established in 2021, UKHSA is a center of scientific and operational excellence in health protection. Its primary mission is to combat both new and re-emerging health threats and enhance health security.

UKHSA collaborates with partners across various sectors, including industry, academia, the NHS, and the wider health system. Their goal is to improve health security not only within the UK but also globally.