AstraZeneca Plc (NASDAQ:AZN) on Thursday announced $15 billion investment in China through 2030 to expand medicines manufacturing and R&D.
In July 2025, AstraZeneca announced it would invest $50 billion in the U.S. by 2030 to tackle Trump tariffs.
The investment, announced during the U.K. Prime Minister's visit to China, will strengthen China-UK collaboration in healthcare innovation and will benefit the life sciences ecosystems of both countries.
Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister, said on Thursday said AstraZeneca's expansion and leadership in China will help the British manufacturer continue to grow, supporting thousands of UK jobs.”
“The multi-billion pound investment announced today from AstraZeneca, alongside partnerships from some of our country's leading universities, furthers research and development in the UK, which is helping to power our world-class life sciences sector," Starmer added.
Pascal Soriot, CEO, AstraZeneca, said: "Today's landmark investment of $15 billion begins an exciting next chapter for AstraZeneca in China…"
AstraZeneca said the investment will significantly enhance the company's cell therapy and radioconjugates capabilities.
These investments span from drug discovery and clinical development to manufacturing. AstraZeneca has already inked several partnerships with Chinese biotechs, including AbelZeta, CSPC, Harbour BioMed, Jacobio, and Syneron Bio.
Building on the 2024 acquisition of Gracell Biotechnologies, AstraZeneca will also become the first global biopharmaceutical leader with end-to-end cell therapy capabilities in China.
These investments build on AstraZeneca's substantial R&D footprint, including global strategic R&D centres in Beijing and Shanghai, which collaborate with over 500 clinical hospitals, and have led on a large number of global clinical trials in the past three years alone.
The company will also develop its existing manufacturing facilities in Wuxi, Taizhou, Qingdao, and Beijing, which provide medicines to patients in China and 70 markets worldwide, together with the establishment of new sites to be announced.
Together, these investments will grow the company's highly skilled workforce in China beyond 20,000 and create thousands of additional jobs across the healthcare ecosystem.
In October 2025, President Donald Trump announced a new agreement with AstraZeneca designed to reduce prescription drug costs for Americans.
The deal will implement a “most-favored-nation” pricing model to lower costs for low-income patients, including those enrolled in Medicaid. This model seeks to align U.S. drug prices more closely with rates paid in other countries, officials said.
In September 2025, the U.K.-based AstraZeneca paused a planned 200 million pounds ($271.26 million) investment in its Cambridge research site.
After AstraZeneca scrapped its vaccine plant expansion, CEO Pascal Soriot called on the U.K. to create a more business-friendly environment to attract capital.
Earlier this year, AstraZeneca abandoned plans for a vaccine manufacturing facility in the U.K. for $554.32 million (450 million pounds) following disagreements with government officials over state support.
AZN Price Action: AstraZeneca shares were down 0.43% at $92.82 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo via Shutterstock
