AstraZeneca Invests £300 Million in UK in Boost for Starmer (1)

AstraZeneca Plc will invest £300 million ($405 million) in UK life sciences, an unexpected show of confidence in its home country after previously warning the pharmaceutical industry there risks stagnating.

The investment includes a new building at the British drugmaker’s headquarters in Cambridge, and a new laboratory at Astra’s manufacturing hub in Macclesfield, Chief Executive OfficerPascal Soriot said Wednesday. In Parliament, Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed what he called a “major vote of confidence” in the government’s economic plans.

The move represents a significant change in stance for the drugmaker after it paused a £200 million expansion of its ...