AstraZeneca pauses £200m Cambridge investment, putting UK life sciences pledges on hold

AstraZeneca has paused plans to invest £200 million to expand its research facilities in Cambridge, the company said, stalling a project that was expected to create about 1,000 jobs and form part of a wider package of government-backed life sciences investment.

"We constantly reassess the investment needs of our company and can confirm our expansion in Cambridge is paused," an AstraZeneca spokesperson said. The project was announced in March 2024 by the previous UK government as part of a promised £650 million of investment; the company said Friday that none of that sum will currently be going ahead.

The Cambridge project would have been an extension of AstraZeneca's existing Discovery Centre, which already hosts about 2,300 researchers and scientists. The move follows the firm's decision in January to abandon plans for a £450 million expansion of a vaccine manufacturing plant in Merseyside, a withdrawal AstraZeneca attributed at the time to a reduction in government support after "protracted" talks.

The pause comes amid a broader pullback by multinational drugmakers from the UK. Earlier this week, US firm Merck, which operates as MSD in Europe, said it had scrapped a planned £1 billion UK expansion and would not occupy a life sciences site under construction in London’s King’s Cross. Merck said it would move its life sciences research to the United States and cut jobs in the UK, blaming successive governments for undervaluing innovative medicines.

AstraZeneca itself has signalled a large shift of investment to the United States. In July the company announced plans to invest $50 billion in the US on medicines manufacturing and research and development. Pharmaceutical executives have said US policy moves, including pressure from President Donald Trump and the threat of tariffs on drug imports, have encouraged firms to prioritise investment in the US.

Industry figures point to long-term funding pressures in the UK health system as a further factor. Over the past decade, spending on medicines in the National Health Service has fallen from about 15% of the NHS budget to roughly 9%, while comparable spending in other developed countries typically ranges between 14% and 20%.

Government ministers have repeatedly highlighted life sciences as a strategic sector. The previous administration unveiled the £650 million package that included the Cambridge investment, and ministers have described the industry as crucial to the country's health and economic resilience. Days before AstraZeneca announced it would scrap the Liverpool expansion in January, Chancellor Rachel Reeves referred to AstraZeneca as one of the country's "great companies."

AstraZeneca’s paused plans underscore growing tensions between the UK’s stated life sciences ambitions and the investment choices of global pharmaceutical companies. Firms and policymakers will now face pressure to demonstrate how the UK can remain competitive for major research and manufacturing projects as some of the sector’s largest players increasingly channel investment toward the United States.