Take AstraZeneca’s warning seriously. The UK is missing out in life sciences

Big pharma has choices about where to make new investments and, increasingly it seems, it is not choosing Britain

Another day, another warning from the pharmaceutical sector that ministers' ambitions to make the UK a life sciences superpower" are in danger of falling flat. The comments from Sir Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, were different in one important respect, however. He offered a concrete example of how the UK is already losing out as an investment venue.

AstraZeneca had wanted to build a new $360m state-of-the-art" manufacturing plant in the north-west of England near its existing facilities in Warrington and Speke. Instead, said Soriot, Ireland got the nod on account of the discouraging" tax rate in the UK.