News that US pharmaceutical powerhouse Pfizer wants to buy UK-based rival AstraZeneca for £60 billion has got the business world buzzing. If it happens, it would be the biggest takeover by a foreign company the UK has seen. But what would it mean for UK science?
AstraZeneca is one of the two giants of UK pharmaceuticals. The other is GlaxoSmithKline. Both have innovative research programmes, often working with universities and smaller companies in the biotech sector. Both play a vital part in the ecosystem of life sciences in the UK. AstraZeneca employs 7000 people directly and supports 30,000 jobs.
That's why there is concern, with speculation over possible job losses in the wake of the suggested deal. Anything that harms UK big pharma could hit the wider life sciences community. In part there is concern because Pfizer, best known for making Viagra, used to have a research base in Sandwich in Kent, UK. But it decided to close the site in 2011 as part of a wider plan to pull back from attempts to develop drugs in some therapeutic areas, including allergies and respiratory diseases.
So, this recent approach by Pfizer to buy AstraZeneca raises the questions: if it took over, would AstraZeneca's research programme continue, and would it remain in the UK?
Companies often cite the UK's excellent scientists and research base as a reason to locate here. They want to be in the place where the best science is done. The pay-off for UK research is that companies play an important role in providing opportunities for translation of academic discoveries into practical uses. This interplay is vital to deliver health benefits and to maintain the strength of the sector.
The British government will certainly want the economic benefits of the country's world-leading life sciences sector to remain in the UK. Foreign ownership of AstraZeneca is probably not part of plan A. But the government does have a number of incentives to attract research-intensive companies to the UK. One of these, the , gives tax relief on profits made from R&D and has been cited by other companies as making the UK an economically attractive base to do research.
So, could the UK's attractive commercial environment and vibrant life sciences sector be enough to persuade Pfizer to retain AstraZeneca's research in the UK if this deal were to go ahead? The combination of tax breaks for research, our elite scientists, world-leading universities and the unique health-research asset of the National Health Service should prove tempting.
My hope remains that the UK will emerge from these business developments recognised as the global destination for academic and commercial research.
Profile: Sarah Main is director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering, which aims to raise the profile of science in the UK. Its members include AstraZeneca
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
