LONDON, Sept 13, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has paused a planned o200-million ($271-million) expansion of its research site in Cambridge, eastern England, in the latest blow for inward investment in the UK.

It follows the company in January abandoning plans to build a o450-million vaccine plant in northwest England and comes days after US pharma group Merck dropped plans to build a $1.4-billion research centre in Britain.

Merck blamed the country's "lack of investment" in the sector and its drugs prices.

An AstraZeneca spokesperson said in a short statement late on Friday that the firm's management "constantly reassess the investment needs of our company and can confirm our expansion in Cambridge is paused".

"We have no further comment to make," the spokesperson added.

The decision is a fresh blow to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's embattled centre-left Labour government, as it struggles to boost Britain's sluggish economy.

Critics argue high taxes and a lack of subsidies and investment are hindering foreign investment across various sectors.

However, the world's biggest pharmaceutical groups have this year come under intense pressure from US President Donald Trump to invest in America or see their production in other countries hit with swingeing tariffs.

AstraZeneca announced in July it would invest $50 billion in the United States by 2030, with plans to boost its manufacturing and research operations there, including by building a multi-billion-dollar factory in Virginia.