Committee publication · Correspondence · 22 April 2025
Letter from AstraZeneca relating to Industrial strategy and life sciences, 28 March 2025
From: Business and Trade Committee
Inquiry: Industrial Strategy
Summary
AstraZeneca's Chair writes to the Business and Trade Committee following oral testimony on industrial strategy and life sciences. The letter elaborates on delays in receiving government support packages, blames Treasury procedural constraints around the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, and flags concerns about UK competitiveness metrics and the voluntary pricing agreement scheme affecting industry investment decisions.
Key findings
- Government delayed confirming a capital grant package because the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund had not been formally opened; HM Treasury lawyers advised this precluded grant confirmation until the scheme launch
- AstraZeneca received an in-principle offer in early March 2024 but full offer confirmation was delayed, with due diligence work interrupted by the general election
- Existing 'Life Sciences Competitiveness Indicators' from the Office for Life Sciences are insufficient for global decision-makers; AstraZeneca and ABPI are developing a more robust performance dashboard
- ABPI published a report on 20 March identifying the voluntary pricing, access and growth (VPAG) scheme as 'in crisis', describing the UK as an international outlier, and warning this undermines industry support for government growth missions
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
AstraZeneca PLC, Shaun Grady, HM Treasury, Office for Life Sciences, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), Business and Trade Committee
Notable line
“… until that scheme had been formally opened, it was not possible to confirm the level of grant awarded.”
Key Quotes
“In practice, the reason officials gave us as to why they were unable to confirm the capital grant component of the package was due to the funding scheme, the "Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund", not yet being opened.”
“These statistics are available through the 'Life Sciences Competitiveness Indicators', which are provided on an annual basis by the OLS. These data sets are useful but are insufficient in capturing the necessary metrics that are reviewed by global decision-makers in our companies.”
“The report provides details as to why the scheme is in crisis, how it makes the UK an outlier internationally, and how this impacts the ability of the industry to support the Government's missions on economic growth.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗