AstraZeneca is planning to invest 拢450m in a new vaccine plant in Liverpool as part of a massive 拢650m investment in the 海角视频 announced in today鈥檚 Budget.
The pharmaceutical giant said it would pump the cash into its manufacturing site in Speke, where it researches, develops and makes vaccines. The site already runs the company鈥檚 world leading childhood vaccination programme.
AstraZeneca says the new site 鈥渨ill be designed and built to be operationally net zero with power supplied from renewable energy sources鈥.
Meanwhile AstraZeneca is also investing 拢200m on expanding its site in Cambridge. And the company is already planning to open a 拢380m manufacturing facility for one of its cancer medicines in Macclesfield later this year.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the AstraZeneca investment during his Budget speech in the House of Commons today. He said the life sciences sector was worth 拢108bn to the 海角视频 economy.
AstraZeneca鈥檚 chief executive officer, Sir Pascal Soriot, said: 鈥淎straZeneca鈥檚 planned investment would enhance the 海角视频鈥檚 pandemic preparedness and demonstrates our ongoing confidence in 海角视频 life sciences. We will continue to support the 海角视频 in driving innovation and patient access, building on the strong foundations which have been put in place.
鈥淭his year marks 25 years since the merger of 海角视频-based Zeneca Group and Swedish Astra AB. We are proud of our British roots and how far we have come over that time 鈥 we are now a truly global company that has transformed the lives of millions of patients throughout the world with a relentless focus on science and innovation.鈥
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: 鈥淭o drive investment we鈥檝e delivered one of the most competitive business tax regimes of any major economy, as part of our plan to help our key industries to grow. Our 拢108 billion Life Sciences sector provides over 300,000 high skilled jobs across the 海角视频 and is crucial for the country鈥檚 health, wealth and resilience.
鈥淲e are sticking to our plan to make the 海角视频 one of the best places in world to invest in developing and manufacturing new, innovative medicines - both protecting public health and growing our economy. AstraZeneca鈥檚 investment plans are a vote of confidence in the attractiveness of 海角视频 as a Life Sciences superpower and strengthen our resilience for future health emergencies.鈥
Dr Isabel Oliver, chief scientific officer at the 海角视频 Health Security Agency (海角视频HSA), said: 鈥淭his investment will bolster the development of the 海角视频鈥檚 vaccine capabilities and life sciences sector 鈥 critical components of the country鈥檚 resilience to future health threats.
鈥満＝鞘悠礖SA majors on researching and developing new ways to strengthen the country鈥檚 defences against all health hazards 鈥 including future pandemics 鈥 and works routinely with a range of commercial and academic partners. We are looking forward to working with AstraZeneca to collectively protect the population鈥檚 health.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Victoria Atkins, said: 鈥淭he 海角视频 is a global leader in the research and development of life saving vaccines. Today鈥檚 announcement is testament to this country鈥檚 Life Science capabilities 鈥 and our continued commitment to pandemic preparedness and global health.
鈥淎s well as creating new highly-skilled jobs, this investment will help maintain the 海角视频鈥檚 position at the forefront of tackling emerging diseases, and support our work to make our healthcare system faster, simpler and fairer.鈥
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