Step up now or lose jobs to US, AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot warns Europe

By HUGO DUNCAN and CALUM MUIRHEAD

Updated: 08:35 BST, 30 April 2025

Astrazeneca’s boss has warned Europe is falling behind as it steps up investment in the United States.

Pascal Soriot said innovation in pharmaceuticals ‘has mostly been funded by the US’ as he doubled down on plans to grow the business in America – which already accounts for 40 per cent of revenues.

And urging Europe to step up its game, he said AstraZeneca will shift manufacturing across the Atlantic to avoid tariffs on pharma imports planned by Donald Trump.

‘When you see the amount of investment that is going into the US, it really sends a very strong signal that Europe has to contribute to pharmaceutical innovation a lot more,’ said Soriot.

‘Otherwise, all these jobs, whether they are manufacturing jobs or R&D jobs, are going to move to the US over time.’

Trump has repeatedly said he will slap tariffs on drugs imports, which could make life-saving treatments more expensive for Americans and encourage firms such as AstraZeneca to produce more in the US.

Expansion: AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot (pictured) said innovation in pharma ‘has mostly been funded by the US’ as he doubled down on plans to grow the business in America

Warning against such tariffs, Soriot told Bloomberg TV: ‘We actually believe that a better incentive to attract investment in manufacturing and in R&D is to have a great tax policy that incentivises companies to invest in the country.’

But he added that AstraZeneca’s exposure to tariffs would fall over time as it shifted production.

‘Beyond 2025, any impact will be short-lived, because of the ability we have to move things around,’ he said. ‘Our company is firmly committed to investing and growing in the US.

‘We have even greater US investment in manufacturing and R&D planned.’

AstraZeneca – Britain’s largest company with a value of £160billion – reported a 10 per cent increase in revenue for the first three months of 2025. 

The rise came after it made strong sales of cancer drugs, with the oncology division reporting a 13 per cent surge in business.

Separately, AstraZeneca is awaiting a potential fine in China over possible unpaid import taxes.

AstraZeneca said authorities in Shenzhen have claimed the unpaid taxes amount to £1.2million and that it could face a fine ‘of between one and five times the amount of unpaid importation taxes’ if found liable – or up to £6million. 

Despite the turmoil, Soriot said: ‘We remain very committed to China. It’s an important market for us.’

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Step up now or lose jobs to US, AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot warns Europe

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