AstraZeneca pledges £300 million ($405 million) to expand UK operations following a new US-UK pharmaceutical trade agreement that maintains 0% tariffs on drug imports to America, though critics warn the NHS will pay higher medicine prices as a quid pro quo. The investment will future-proof thousands of jobs in Macclesfield and Cambridge, marking a reversal after AstraZeneca abandoned a £450 million Liverpool vaccine facility and paused a £200 million Cambridge expansion amid complaints the UK was not internationally competitive. Since the trade deal announcement, 13 pharmaceutical companies have committed £1.575 billion in UK investments, including Boehringer Ingelheim's £150 million AI accelerator in London. AstraZeneca reported strong first-quarter results with revenues rising 12% to $14.38 billion, driven by cancer drug Enhertu and rare disease therapy Ultomiris, as the company targets $80 billion in annual revenues by 2030.
Story comments
Loading comments…