In late November 2023, Pascal Soreriot, CEO of Astrazeneca, flew from Sydney to London to present a confusing political gift on the day the company described as “Super Tuesday”.
After his decline, he held successive meetings with the Prime Minister at the time, Rishi Sonak, Counselor Jeremy Hunt, Science and Technology Michel Donilan, according to people who were briefed on the matter.
For a British political class, hunger from good economic news, Soriot's proposal brought some rare chanting: a great expansion in AstrazenecaA vaccine factory in Speke, near Liverpool, would enhance Britain's claim that it is a pioneering center for life sciences.
“Pascal was the great CEO of the star, Astrazeneca was a rocket ship under his leadership. A person involved in government meetings said:” We put the red carpet for him. “Everything was smiling, all shake the hand.”
But after 14 months, Astrazeneca has greatly unloaded the Speke project. The officials' officials told the decision last week a few hours after the name of the current business counselor, Rachel Reeves, whose name is Astrazeneca as one of the “great companies” in Britain in a growth speech.
The accusations flew, but how did things go well?
At November 2023 meetings, Soreriot described his plan to build on Astrazeneca vaccine manufacturing facilities in Speke, which produces a very successful influenza vaccine in the company, and his desire to make the next generation vaccines in Britain.
Soreriot reported that Astrazeneca-the largest company listed in Britain with a 180 billion pounds of a sterling market-was opened by manufacturing facilities in Spain and Germany, where a “open wound” of the preserved government is touched, according to a person in discussions.
A few weeks later, Dunilan was invited to visit the Astrazeneca research and development site in Cambridge, the heart of the life sciences sector in Britain, where she was treated with a great tour of their research facility in the latest style.
Shortly after that, Astrazeneca representatives put their requests for government support: they wanted £ 100 million in granting to help develop the site.
“The Life Sciences Office saw a major coup if they could ensure the presence of Astrazeneca in the UK. A government official said of that time:” They were ready to withdraw every crane at their disposal to achieve this. “He was also one of the few areas of policy in which he was Civil service and ministers, and everyone was in the sixth gear. “
When the news of the deal, which was placed to the Times on January 24, leaked last yearSoreriot Hunt personally called for his deep frustration, according to someone who was aware of the discussion. The matter was softened and Hunt intervened for a final offer of 90 million pounds in government support on the line. Soreriot worked to persuade his board of directors.
Hunt told FT: “I had to excessive load concerns about the treasury regarding value for money, and Pascal Soreriot had to overlook his board of directors, which he believed was not enough,” Hunt told FT. “But this was the right thing because it was very strategic for the United Kingdom and a lot of the value chain of medicines and high -end vaccines in manufacturing and not just research.” A person close to Soreriot said that he would not be able to “excessive judgment” in the council.
Soon the relationship is tense. In early March, the National Institute of Excellence in England rejected Astrazeneca Medicines for Breast Cancer by arguing that the price was very high. Other countries – even Scotland – had applied to the drug, which oncologists had grew up as a rule. The decision angered the executives and members of the company's board of directors, and intensified the broader frustration over the aggressive negotiations of the UK government on drug pricing.
Soreriot said on Thursday, like Astrazeneca unveil Better than profits in the fourth quarter expected, there was “zero link” between Nice's decision regarding Tuerto and Speke negotiations. He added that drug pricing in the country Clawback tax Did you stop the investment, but he said again that this is “completely separate from Speke”.
The next day of Nice's rejection, Hunt announced the investment of Astrazeneca in a 450 million pounds in Speke while unveiling its budget in March – which shows mysterious obligations that the pharmaceutical company will develop the next generation of vaccines on the site, and help the United Kingdom prepare for future regrets .
Two months later, Sonak called the general elections and the government entered the campaign, leaving the deal and applying the suspended Astrazeneca grant, commenting on forgetting.
Sir Kerr Starmer and his ministers arrived at the government after the Labor Party won on July 4, expecting to find full details about the proposed Astrazneca deal agreed with Hunt. But four major government figures told FT that they were unable to find due support papers to support support.
One official said: “When we entered, we realized that the deal announced by Hunt had done without any value in exchange for money besides that.”
Hunt said this was “nonsense”, adding that “he never heard about the due care of the Public Sector deal before” where the conditions are agreed upon.
One of the officials recalled that they asked from Astrazneca a letter specifying the conditions of the deal and presenting two text messages: one of which provides Astrazneca by 90 million pounds, and a second clarification of the government's plan to announce it.
The person added that the higher figures in Astrazeneca “continued to raise that breast cancer had been rejected by Nice.”
The new government began to do its own due care, against the background of Reeves, which is looking for savings to fill what it claimed to be a “22 billion pounds black hole” in public financial resources.
Astrazneca saw this as kiboscope a deal they already made. A person close to Soreriot said: “The truth is that they reopened the deal, and this is the place where all problems arose.”
Sean Jaradi – the UK President at Astrazneca now – wrote to the new government in July, saying that it is “important” that the company received guarantees about the Speke project to start work in August, according to the correspondence obtained by the Times.
Negotiations continued between Astrazneca and Labor during the summer of 2024, as the due care of the ministers revealed that the company will invest 90 million pounds in the research and development related to the site, which is less than the number that was previously described at a value of 150 million pounds.
One of the industry numbers that were informed of the negotiations said that the company saw that this “beans meters” the government fails to see the “big picture.”
“Treasury officials want legal procedures and do this in the old way.” They said: “This differs from how other governments do so,” noting the deals made by Astrazneca with Canada and Singapore, among others.
In August, representatives of Astrazeneca were called to the government and told that they would only be offered 40 million pounds in government grants. Officials said the government's contribution was based on a match in support of what the company itself was.
VIPs of Astrazeneca had “Hissy Fit”, one of the officials remembered the discussions. In talks with government figures, representatives of Astrazneca said that the company can transfer its vaccine manufacturing facility to Philadelphia, another site in which it manufactures influenza vaccine, according to the people who have been informed of the discussions.
Reeves and Peter Kyle, the Minister of Science, ordered the assembly to the assembly between a revised package to try to save the project.
In October, the Treasury put 78 million pounds on the table. Although less than 90 million pounds were presented by Hunt, government officials felt that “mood” seemed to be improving. One of them said: “The company accepted to put our best foot forward.”
Astrazeneca took the width away. Silence is fateful descending in the project.
In November, Astrazneca failed again to obtain the approval of Texrtu by Nice. The following month, the company and other pharmaceutical groups discovered that NHS was calling for a higher percentage of their drug sales under the Clawback mechanism that retains the costs of state health service, which leads to anger throughout the sector. Executive officials were also reeling throughout the British business world of a national insurance contribution worth 25 billion pounds in the Reeves budget.
Medicine makers met the Minister of Health Wes on the street In January to complain About the Clawback Tax, on the pretext that it made Britain not competing deeply and asked him to reconsider the rate later in the year. The street has not yet been waived for this request.
Last Wednesday, Reeves described the United Kingdom as a place for companies for investment and Strazinica that the names are determined as one of the “great companies” in Britain.
A few hours later, members of their department met with large personalities in Astrazneca and were informed of their presentation of the Speke project. The officials were surprised. The deal was dead. Two days later, Astrazneca FT told that it was partially abandoned by the project because of “the timing and reduction of the final offer compared to the proposal of the previous government.”
Some numbers on both sides of the negotiations asked about the extent of Astrazeneca's commitment to building the site in the first place, given that the company is invested primarily in other drugs, such as oncology medications.
“The vaccines are a strategy outside Astrazeca, and not at all its concentration in the future,” said a person close to the company, adding that it wants to focus its research and development in Cambridge or on the eastern coast of the United States. .
One of the officials said that the episode had echoes from the Astrazeneca decision to close a research facility in Alderley Park- About an hour in East Speke-in 2013, transferring research and development from northwest to England to Cambridge.
“Because of the change in the conditions agreed in the first place, we were unable to justify the provision of the same amount of funding,” the Treasury said. Astrazneca refused to comment.
On Thursday, Soreriot said that Astrazeneca was committed to the Speke project, and at some point increased to 500 million pounds of investment, Soreriot said.
But he said that the deal had become “economically unprofessional” and the company was looking into alternative proposals for the location of the expansion.
“There was no tension, no problem, very good cooperation with all concerned,” he said. “We are all very disappointed but this is a commercial life.”
