AstraZeneca to pause £200m Cambridge investment, shares slump

(Sharecast News) - AstraZeneca slumped on Monday after saying it was pausing plans to invest £200m at its Cambridge research site. The pharmaceuticals giant confirmed the move after the close on Friday.

A spokesperson for the company said: "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."

The confirmation came after Reuters said the decision on the investment, which had been set to create 1,000 jobs, means that none of AstraZeneca's planned new funding - originally announced in March 2024 - is currently proceeding.

In January, AstraZeneca scrapped plans to invest £450m in its vaccine manufacturing plant in northern England, citing a cut in government support.

At 0935 BST, the shares were down 3.4% at 11,390p.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said this was "hot on the heels of other pharmaceutical strategic withdrawals given the perceived lack of interest from the government".

He added: "Despite the dip, the shares are up by 21% so far this year, but from a UK perspective such moves add to the possibility that Astra could seek to reflect its US exposure by switching its primary listing, which would be a major reputational blow."