AstraZeneca boss says company chose Ireland over Britain based on tax rate         

Chief executive Pascal Soriot also pointed to Ireland’s commitment to rapidly delivering green energy over the next few years as another reason why this country was more attractive for the Cambridge-based drug maker

AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot said UK tax rate 'was discouraging'.

AstraZeneca said it chose Ireland for a new manufacturing facility instead of Britain because of punitive tax rates.

The British-based drugmaker initially wanted to make a recent €335m investment in the UK, but “the tax rate was discouraging”, chief executive Pascal Soriot said in a briefing with journalists. 

“You need an environment that gives you good returns and incentive to invest,” he said. 

Mr Soriot also pointed to Ireland’s commitment to rapidly delivering green energy over the next few years as another reason why this country was more attractive for Cambridge-based AstraZeneca. 

The comments are at odds with the British government’s ambitions to turn the UK into a life-sciences superpower. 

British prime minister Rishi Sunak announced the creation of a new science department this week as part of a broader reorganisation.

Other pharmaceuticals leaders have also pointed to the challenges facing Britain, with GSK's Emma Walmsley last week warning Britain was at a “tipping point” if the right decisions were not taken soon. 

Meanwhile, Sanofi chief executive Paul Hudson said the UK was at risk of causing long-term damage to its once-vaunted life science sector, which would further limit patients’ access to cutting-edge medicines. 

A drug-pricing agreement between the British government and the pharmaceutical industry has also been criticised in recent months, with drugmakers Eli Lilly and AbbVie pulling out of the voluntary scheme because of surging repayment rates.

The deal caps how much Britain's National Health Service would need to pay for branded medicines, with the industry covering the extra spending in a context where healthcare costs have soared because of the pandemic.

“Now we are told you have to live with what you signed up to, but we didn’t sign up to have to cover the cost of Covid,” Mr Soriot said. 

“What we would like to see is a return to the kind of rebates that we saw in the past," he said. 

Mr Soriot highlighted the need for a variety of people and positions at every level of drug-making, from statisticians, to IT staff and regulatory experts, to build a vibrant industry. 

If Britain wants "a flourishing life sciences sector, we need more than discovery science”, he said. 

• Bloomberg