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British ministers hope to secure a major new vaccine investment from AstraZeneca, accompanied by a state aid package worth tens of millions of pounds, in a deal that will be a major boost to the UK's life sciences sector.
The investment comes after AstraZeneca chief executive Sir Pascal Soriot last year chose Ireland over Britain to build a new $360 million factory, citing Britain's “disincentive tax rate”. It would be a coup for Rishi Sunak's government.
Government officials briefed on the talks said ministers expected AstraZeneca to formally apply for funding to expand its Speke factory near Liverpool in the coming weeks. .
Some within the government believe AstraZeneca may seek support of up to 100 million pounds. “They want cash from the government,” said one official. “It will be viewed favorably.”
The plans are not final and could be expanded to other locations, including a manufacturing site in Macclesfield, the people said. AstraZeneca declined to comment.
Prime Minister Jeremy Hunt has named life sciences as one of the five key sectors of the UK economy. In his Autumn Statement in November, he set aside £520m to “build resilience for future health emergencies and leverage the strength of UK research and development”.
The Government said around £1bn of overall public support for the life sciences sector is available.
Labor MP Maria Eagle, whose constituency includes the Speke factory, said the company was considering producing a “next generation” vaccine on land adjacent to its current factory where it makes influenza vaccines.
“I will support their expansion plans as much as I can,” she said. “It will be good for the country and good for the community in terms of resilience against future pandemics.
“We hope the government will support us to move forward with this development,” she added.
Mr Hunt said in March last year that the UK had “very strong footholds” in the life sciences sector, home to Europe's largest industry, but government policy had recently come under attack from some in the sector. He said that
In February last year, Mr Soriot criticized the UK's tax rate (the UK's main corporate tax rate is 25%), saying the UK government had not given enough support to the industry in recent years.
In October 2023, Merck & Co.'s head of research told the government that the UK would not be able to build a drug company, even as the US-based pharmaceutical company prepared to build a £1 billion research center in London. I asked for more welcome.
The industry is particularly unhappy that the UK pays far less for medicines than many other developed countries, and last year was embroiled in a dispute over the rebates pharmaceutical companies should pay to the NHS. It has developed to. A new agreement between pharmaceutical companies and the health service was agreed in November.
AstraZeneca has established a vaccine and immunotherapy unit after partnering with the University of Oxford to develop a coronavirus vaccine.
The vaccine was one of the most used vaccines worldwide in 2021, but has since fallen out of general use due to concerns about rare blood clotting side effects and the fact that it is less effective than mRNA injections. .
Before the pandemic, the only vaccine the company sold was FluMist, a nasal influenza vaccine manufactured by Speke.
AstraZeneca is investing in a new method that could make the vaccine more efficiently and quickly than the old egg-based manufacturing process still used in Flumist.
Late last year, AstraZeneca agreed to buy its first vaccine company, Icosovax, in a deal worth up to $1.1 billion.
A government spokesperson declined to comment on “commercial matters” but said: “The government is committed to cementing the UK's position as one of the best locations in the world for global life sciences companies to invest and innovate. I'm working hard on that.”
Flumist is recommended in the United States. This article has been amended to remove incorrect statements to the contrary.
