Overview

• AstraZeneca confirmed it has halted the planned expansion in Cambridge, saying it continually reassesses investment needs.
• The pause follows the company’s scrapping of a £450 million vaccine plant in Merseyside earlier this year after chief executive Pascal Soriot said the project was not economically viable.
• The Cambridge plan had been expected to create about 1,000 jobs, according to reporting on the proposal announced in 2024.
• In July, AstraZeneca set out a $50 billion US investment program through 2030, including a flagship manufacturing facility in Virginia and expanded R&D and cell therapy work in several states.
• The latest decision lands as other drugmakers question the UK business climate, with Merck saying this week it will abandon a planned London research centre.