AstraZeneca To Invest $500M In France Over 5 Years

AstraZeneca Plc will announce a five-year, $500M investment in France on Monday, on the sidelines of the government’s “Choose France” event to promote business in the country.

“The investment enables us to further build scientific collaborations in France, ensure our global manufacturing site in Dunkirk can continue to meet the evolving needs of the business, and accelerate new technologies through a new European Innovation Hub,” AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said in a statement.

It includes $230M through 2025 to help build a stand-alone assembly line and two assembly and packaging lines and modernization of existing equipment, which could create around 100 highly skilled jobs. The Dunkirk site focuses on the development and manufacturing of inhaled products to help treat asthma.

The U.K.-based company plans to invest $275M in research in development and will set aside $15M for the opening of a European Innovation Hub in Paris. It said its entire investment in the country could lead to the creation of around 150 jobs.

French President Emmanuel Macron will welcome almost 150 foreign and French chief executives at the Versailles Palace on Monday for the “Choose France” event. The event comes as the French economy and Paris public transport are slowed down by protests against Macron’s pension reform.