AstraZeneca dismisses rumours of facility relocation to US
AstraZeneca's site in Speke, Liverpool
AstraZeneca has said it has "no idea" where rumours of a plan to relocate a planned facility in the UK to the US have come from, adding: "They do not seem to be based on facts."
The comments came in response to an article in the Financial Times this morning which claimed that AZ was considering a change in the location of a £450 million ($578 million) vaccines manufacturing plant from Speke in Liverpool to Philadelphia because the new Labour government is angling to reduce a subsidy programme.
Citing multiple undisclosed sources, the FT said that Chancellor Rachel Reeves wants to reduce the package from around £90 million – based on £70 million in grants and £20 million in R&D support from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) – to £40 million.
The report said AZ had told the UK government it was considering the move because "generous financial support is offered for industrial projects" in Philadelphia, and also suggested that manufacturing could be transferred to India, where the drugmaker has produced vaccines in the past.
"There are no discussions in the US or India," said AZ. "We are committed to pursuing the opportunity at Speke and are in constructive discussions with the UK government."
The FT is doubling down on an article published earlier this month which first suggested that a bid to cut the state aid package was being negotiated.
At the time, AZ declined to comment on the matter, while the Treasury said Reeves was receiving "regular updates on this planned investment in Speke, and we are in positive discussions with AstraZeneca to support its delivery." Reeves is looking to cut government spending to plug a £22 billion black hole in public finances, which she has claimed was kept under wraps by the Conservative government.
At the moment, the Speke plant employs around 400 people and is dedicated primarily to the production of AZ's FluMist vaccine for influenza.
When the plan was first announced by the previous Conservative government earlier this year, AZ chief executive Pascal Soriot said the investment would "enhance the UK’s pandemic preparedness and demonstrate...ongoing confidence in UK life sciences."
Alongside the £450 million for the Speke project, AZ also announced £200 million in spending on expanding its flagship Discovery Centre (DISC) R&D facility in Cambridge.
