The investment provides an integrated facility for pharmaceutical and analytical R&D to cope efficiently with a growing demand for work on AstraZeneca’s wide range of investigational pharmaceutical products which are distributed to more than 50 countries worldwide for clinical development.

The facility will provide clinical materials focussing particularly in the Oncology, Neuroscience and Cardiovascular therapeutic areas of AstraZeneca’s development portfolio. This is part of a continuing investment programme on the site, which includes new process research development facilities currently under construction.

Dr Nicklasson said: "These facilities are an important step in ensuring AstraZeneca remains at the cutting edge in pharmaceutical R&D and will further enhance our effectiveness in maintaining a flow of innovative pharmaceutical products to treat serious disease areas."

State of the art technology and equipment is employed throughout the building, which houses packaging equipment and sophisticated temperature controlled storage facilities for bulk drug, formulated product and packaged investigational products. All areas have been designed to aid operational efficiency, reduce manual handling and to provide a good flow of products through the various processes within the facility.

The building is occupied by employees who previously worked in four different locations nearby and incorporates office space and modern videoconferencing facilities within an innovative design which maximises the use of natural daylight from roof glazing.

Macclesfield has the second largest manufacturing and supply site worldwide for AstraZeneca, with a focus on production and distribution, R&D and sales and marketing. The site employs around 2,800 people in total, working in a wide variety of functions

AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the top five pharmaceutical companies in the world with healthcare sales of over $17.8 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, oncology, anaesthesia (including pain management), cardiovascular, central nervous system (CNS) and respiratory products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global and European) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.

For more information, please visit www.astrazenecapressoffice.com