AstraZeneca to invest £120 million in UK site which manufactures Zoladex

Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) will invest £120 million ($190 million) in a new facility at its global manufacturing site in Macclesfield, UK, to continue production of Zoladex (goserelin), an injectable treatment for patients with prostate cancer.

The investment secures 300 existing Zoladex jobs at the site and will create more than 200 temporary jobs during the construction and commissioning phase between now and early 2017. Zoladex has been manufactured at AstraZeneca’s Macclesfield plant for more than 25 years, supplying the medicine to more than 100 markets around the world. It is currently the company’s fifth largest selling brand with annual sales in the region of $1 billion.

David Smith, executive vice-president, operations at AstraZeneca, said: “Zoladex is one of AstraZeneca’s leading cancer drugs, supplied to patients across the globe. This new facility will support the continued production of this important medicine in the UK. Having considered a number of options globally, we believe it is the right choice to build the new facility in Macclesfield, which has been home to Zoladex manufacturing - and the expertise that goes along with it - for many years. This investment is a further signal of our long term commitment to the UK, and to the North West.”