AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) has become the latest leading drugmaker to reconsider its investments in Britain, as the Anglo-Swedish pharma giant has paused plans for a £200M (~$271M) investment in its Cambridge research site, following a similar move by Merck (NYSE:MRK), Reuters reported.
The investment, which was set to create about 1,000 jobs in the U.K., is the latest to face discontinuation after the FTSE-100 company decided to scrap a £450M expansion at a vaccine production plant in Northern England in January.
The decision will mean that none of its planned investments originally announced in March 2024 are currently advancing in Britain.
“We constantly reassess the investment needs of our company and can confirm our expansion in Cambridge is paused. We have no further comment to make,” an AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) spokesperson noted.
The spokesperson was responding to a question about speculation regarding its investments after Merck (NYSE:MRK) announced on Wednesday that it has canceled plans for a £1B research center in London, citing a challenging business environment in the country.
Both announcements precede U.S. President Donald Trump’s second state visit to the U.K. next week. Trump has often threatened to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical products in a bid to encourage leading drugmakers to invest in the U.S. In July, AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) pledged to make investments worth $50B in the U.S. by 2030.