-- AstraZeneca (AZN) will invest 300 million pounds ($404.9 million) in the UK, focusing on its sites in Cambridge and Macclesfield, in a move aimed at boosting the country's life sciences sector, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
The investment will fund expansion at AstraZeneca's Cambridge biomedical campus and boost manufacturing and research capabilities at its Macclesfield site, according to the report.
In a statement to, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot praised the UK government for its efforts to "improve access for patients, including four new approvals since the beginning of the year across the UK." He said the company is looking forward to "further enhancing the access and the reimbursement environment and build a strong life sciences sector."
Soriot said AstraZeneca is "investing a total of 300 million pounds in the UK, which includes investment in our Macclesfield site, including a lab of the future that will use digital and data tools to advance drug development."
Shares of AstraZeneca were down 2.3% in US trading on Wednesday.
(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)
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