AstraZeneca threatens to move UK vaccine production to US, FT reports
Adds additional AstraZeneca comment in paragraph 6
Aug 23 (Reuters) -AstraZeneca AZN.L has warned it could relocate its vaccine manufacturing site from the UK to the United States as talks with the new Labour government over plans to cut state aid have become deadlocked, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
British finance minister Rachel Reeves wants to reduce state provisions to the company's vaccine centre, which will cut the pledge made by the previous administration from about 90 million pounds to 40 million pounds, the report said, citing sources.
The previous offer included up to 70 million in grants to develop a facility in Speke, Liverpool and 20 million pounds in research and development support from the UK Health Security Agency, the Financial Times report said.
Manufacturing could take place in India, where the company has produced vaccines in the past, people briefed on the discussions told the newspaper.
An AztraZeneca spokesperson said: "We are committed to pursuing the opportunity at Speke and are in constructive discussions with the UK government."
"We have no idea where the comments in some media come from and they do not seem to be based on facts. As an example, there are no discussions in the US or India," the spokesperson said.
"We are in positive discussions with AstraZeneca to support the delivery of this planned investment in Speke," a UK Treasury spokesperson said.
The Sunak administration in March planned to invest 650 million pounds in the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker to boost research, development and manufacturing of vaccines.
Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Chandni Shah and Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Jane Merriman
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
