AstraZeneca unveils US$50bil investment as pharma tariff threat looms
The investment will fund a new drug manufacturing facility in Virginia and expand research and development (R&D) and cell therapy manufacturing in Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Indiana and Texas, it said in a statement.
It will also upgrade the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker's US clinical trial supply network and support ongoing investment in novel medicines.
On Monday, AstraZeneca said the expansion supports its ambition to reach US$80 billion in annual revenue by 2030, with half coming from the US.
The US accounted for more than 40 per cent of AstraZeneca's annual revenue in 2024, and the company had been prioritising the market – the world's largest, worth US$635 billion – before Trump's return to office.
The move to scale up its US footprint is the latest by a drugmaker as Trump threatens to impose import tariffs on the industry and seeks to boost domestic manufacturing. The sector has historically been spared from trade disputes.
Trump has called on pharma companies to make more of the medicines they sell in the US within the country, rather than importing active ingredients or finished medicines.
He is also pushing for prices in the US to fall to what other countries pay.
CEO Pascal Soriot announced the plans in Washington, saying he believes that drug prices need to rise elsewhere and "equalise" with other countries effectively contributing more to research and development costs.
"The United States cannot build or carry the cost of R&D for the entire world," he said.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's department is leading a probe into pharmaceutical imports that could pave the way for new tariffs.
"For decades Americans have been reliant on foreign supply of key pharmaceutical products. President Trump and our nation's new tariff policies are focused on ending this structural weakness," said Lutnick in a statement issued by AstraZeneca.
While Trump has repeatedly threatened tariffs on the sector, he signalled earlier this month that companies would be given a year to 18 months to "get their act together" before any levies take effect.
The company said that the timing and location of the announcement was linked to the US policy environment, though some of the spending would have occurred regardless so that the infrastructure for future medicines was in place.
The pledge is in addition to the US$3.5 billion in investments the company announced in November 2024, the statement said.
Pledges
The US$50 billion pledge matches the commitment announced by Swiss rival Roche in April and follows new spending plans unveiled this year by Eli Lilly & Co, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, and Sanofi.
Also present at the announcement was Virginia State Governor Glenn Youngkin, a vocal Trump ally who has defended the administration's tariff policies.
The new Virginia facility – the company's largest single manufacturing investment – will produce active ingredients for AstraZeneca's experimental weight-loss medicines, including its oral GLP-1 candidate and an oral PCSK9 inhibitor for cholesterol management, it said.
The company said the investment could create tens of thousands of new jobs, but declined to give specifics. It employs about 18,000 people in the US and has a global workforce of about 90,000.
In January, it scrapped plans to invest £450 million (US$607.10 million) in its vaccine manufacturing plant in northern England, citing a cut in government support.
Earlier this month, The Times reported the company was considering moving its stock market listing from London – where it is the exchange's most valuable company worth £159 billion – to the US. The company declined to comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
14 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Ringgit ends higher on Malaysia-US trade deal optimism
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit ended higher against the US dollar, buoyed by optimism that Malaysia could secure a more favourable trade deal with the United States (US), said an analyst. The local note also traded higher versus the US dollar for the fifth consecutive day. At 6pm, the ringgit rose to 4.2135/2210 against the greenback from Wednesday's close of 4.2255/2300. Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said Malaysia is actively engaging in discussions with the US over the impending 25 per cent tariff rate set to take effect on Aug 1, aiming to secure a rate below 20 per cent. SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said regional tailwinds further lifted sentiment after US President Donald Trump concluded a trade deal with Japan on Tuesday, which included reducing tariffs on the import of Japanese goods into the US to 15 per cent from 25 per cent. "These developments are fuelling hopes that Washington's broader tariff strategy is shifting from confrontation to compromise. "Against this backdrop, investors see Malaysia as a likely beneficiary of the next wave of bilateral deals," he told Bernama. Innes added that the ringgit's recent gains may signal its potential to benefit from improved trade conditions following the US-Japan agreement. At the close, the ringgit was higher against a basket of major currencies. It advanced against the Japanese yen to 2.8751/8804 from 2.8837/8870, rose against the British pound at 5.7080/7182 from 5.7230/7291 and inched up against the euro to 4.9517/9605 from 4.9586/9639. The local note was firmer against regional peers, except the Philippine peso. It increased vis-à-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.2995/3057 from 3.3071/3109, appreciated against the Thai baht to 13.0570/0863 from 13.1370/1567 and improved versus the Indonesian rupiah to 258.5/259.1 from 259.1/259.5. However, the local note traded slightly lower against the Philippine peso, at 7.43/7.45, compared to 7.42/7.44 at yesterday's close.
Free Malaysia Today
21 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Australia relaxes curbs on US beef imports that angered Trump
Australia has shipped between 150,000 tonnes and 400,000 tonnes of beef to the US every year since 1990. (EPA Images pic) CANBERRA : Australia will ease restrictions on beef imports from the US, the country's agriculture ministry said today, potentially smoothing trade talks with US President Donald Trump, who had attacked its rules. 'Still, the decision, which US agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins called a win for Trump, is unlikely to significantly boost US shipments because beef prices are much lower in Australia,' analysts said. Australia agriculture minister Julie Collins said in a statement that a 'rigorous science and risk-based assessment' had concluded that US measures to monitor and control the movement of cattle meant biosecurity risks were being effectively managed. The government 'will never compromise on biosecurity', she said, adding: 'Australia stands for open and fair trade – our cattle industry has significantly benefited from this'. Canberra has restricted US beef imports since 2003 due to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. Meat from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the US has been allowed into Australia since 2019. However, few suppliers were able to prove their animals had been only in the US, because cattle frequently moved between the US, Canada and Mexico without being adequately tracked. The US has been improving its ability to monitor animals' movements to limit the spread of avian influenza and the New World screwworm, a parasite that eats cattle alive. 'Recognising those improvements, Australia will now also accept beef sourced from cattle born in Canada or Mexico and legally imported and slaughtered in the US,' the agriculture ministry said. 'Australian firms will be able to apply for import permits from July 28,' it added. Almost double 'Gone are the days of putting American farmers on the sidelines,' US agriculture secretary Rollins said in a statement crediting Trump with opening Australia's market. 'It's absurd that non-scientific trade barriers prevented our beef from being sold to consumers in Australia for the last 20 years,' she said. News of Australia changing its policy was first reported by the Australian Financial Review. The report said Australia will use the easing of rules to argue its case for the US to wind back 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium and Trump's threat to impose a 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals. Collins said the decision was a purely scientific one. Trump in April singled out the beef trade disparity with Australia after Australia's beef exports to the US last year, reaching A$4 billion (US$2.64 billion) amid a slump in US beef production. Australia's biosecurity regimen aims to keep its cattle disease-free and help it preserve access to lucrative markets such as Japan and South Korea. Industry body Cattle Australia and the shadow agriculture minister said there should be an independent review of the decision before it goes into effect. 'There is simply too much at stake,' said Will Evans, Cattle Australia's CEO. 'The highest level of caution must be exercised to protect Australia's beef industry,' Evans said. US beef shipments to Australia restarted last year after a hiatus. However, exports remained tiny. Last year's shipment of 269 tonnes of beef to Australia was the most for any year, beating out the 263 tonnes sent in 1995, Australian customs data show. Australia has shipped between around 150,000 tonnes and 400,000 tonnes of beef every year to the US since 1990, with US fast-food chains prizing Australian product for its lower fat content and competitive prices. 'Cattle prices in the US are almost always higher than in Australia and are currently double Australian levels,' said Matt Dalgleish, a meat and livestock analyst at consultants Episode 3. 'This is not going to displace Australian beef in the Australian market,' he said.
Free Malaysia Today
22 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Tariff negotiations with US ‘not finished', says Philippines
President Ferdinand Marcos flew back to the Philippines yesterday after a three-day trip to Washington. (AP pic) MANILA : Negotiations over the Philippines' new 19% US tariff rate are 'not finished', a key government economic adviser said today, tamping down fears over the deal's potential impact on the agriculture sector. President Ferdinand Marcos flew back to the country late yesterday after a three-day trip to Washington that saw him emerge from a meeting with Donald Trump having shaved a single point off a 20% levy on Filipino goods. What might 'seem like a very small concession' was in fact a 'significant achievement', Marcos told reporters who questioned if the Philippines – a long-time US treaty ally – was getting the short end of the stick. The US president, meanwhile, touted 'zero tariffs' on American goods headed to the archipelago nation of 115 million. But Marcos economic adviser Frederick Go said today that tariffs would not be dropped in every category. 'The negotiations are not yet finished. Our technical working groups will continue to work with their counterparts from America to finalise the details of this arrangement,' he told reporters in Manila. 'There are still many things to be discussed.' Since the Trump meeting, the Marcos administration has downplayed the potential effects of the tariffs, noting just 16% of the country's exports go to the US, with about two-thirds being electronic components not subject to levies. Today, Go said that while tariffs would disappear for certain agricultural products like soy and wheat, key areas such as sugar, corn, rice, fish and pork would remain protected for Filipino farmers. 'I can guarantee to you we studied our biggest industries in the country where we are a significant market producer. We didn't include those in our arrangements with the US,' he said. Go also touted the benefit to Filipino consumers of dropping some tariffs, particularly on pharmaceuticals. 'Medicines are expensive in the Philippines. If they are tariff-free, then that can lower the price of medicine in our country,' he said. Jesus Felipe, an economics professor at Manila's De La Salle University, told AFP the actual number of Philippine exports hit by the full tariff would likely be low. 'That's the number (19%) that has been flagged, but our feeling is that many products – a substantial share of Philippine exports to the US – will have to be exempted.' While predicting the effect on Philippine GDP would effectively be 'nothing', Felipe said the 'imperialist attitude' with which the US was treating smaller countries remained worrying. Countries with far larger US trade deficits like China, Mexico and Canada had 'much more power and leverage' to fight back, he said. 'The Philippines cannot retaliate.'
