AstraZeneca 'said it could cut UK jobs' if levy on biodiversity drugs introduced | AstraZeneca

Multiple sources told the Guardian that AstraZeneca has said it may cut jobs at its UK operations as the government pushes through a global push to make companies share profits from nature's genetic codes.

The alleged one The company's comments came amid a concerted lobbying effort by the pharmaceutical industry against the profit-sharing measures.

Sources told the Guardian that the British-Swedish biotech company – which made a profit of $5.96 billion (£4.59 billion) last year – made the comments last week during a roundtable meeting of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which discussed a proposed new global levy on medicines derived from the digital forms of biodiversity. An AstraZeneca spokesperson disputed their representative's comments.

Nature's genetic codes – which when stored digitally are called digital sequence information (DSI) – are playing a growing role in the development of new drugs in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

But in biodiverse countries there is widespread resentment about how DSI is used by multinational companies to develop commercial products – almost always for free. Most of the world's remaining biodiversity is concentrated in poorer countries. They argue that freely using this genetic information amounts to “biopiracy” and say companies should share profits when native species are used to develop commercial products.

World leaders have already agreed in principle that these benefits should be shared more fairly. This is what they are now gathered in Cali, Colombia, at Biodiversity Cop16 to negotiate what form this exchange should take.

Ideas being considered include a 1% global tax on profits from goods sourced from DSI, which could cost the Cambridge-based company up to $60 million if enforced by the British government [that figure represents an estimated maximum, as not all of the firm’s profit would be derived from DSI].

The profit-sharing proposals have sparked significant backlash from pharmaceutical companies. In March, AstraZeneca announced a £650 million investment in its UK operations, including £450 million for its vaccine research and production facility in Liverpool. However, according to sources present at last week's meeting, a company representative said jobs in the north west of England could be affected by a levy.

Without a global agreement on how revenue from DSI-based discoveries will be shared, some countries have threatened to restrict access to their biodiversity – potentially a major blow to commercial and scientific research. Revenue from the global fund would be used for conservation around the world to prevent further destruction of ecosystems.

Eva Zabey, executive director of Business for Nature, said progress at DSI in the Cop16 negotiations was crucial.

“Nature is the foundation of all aspects of our economy. The benefits of natural resources – including through digital sequencing – must be valued and shared fairly. “Companies have a responsibility to contribute financially and non-financially to the use of these resources,” she said.

While any DSI levy would be voluntary, governments are free to introduce mandatory national measures, an approach currently being explored by the UK government.

At the Defra meeting on October 15, representatives from the pharmaceutical industry expressed strong opposition to the idea, saying a compulsory levy would harm competitiveness with countries such as the US, which have not signed the UN biodiversity process and would not introduce a levy.

Richard Torbett, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, who attended the Defra meeting, said the introduction of a compulsory levy on UK-based companies was “a poorly targeted and damaging response to a critical global challenge”.

“It would hamper the use of this important data and stifle UK research efforts on matters vital to public health,” he said.

“Any multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism must promote conservation goals alongside scientific innovation and economic growth. The proposals for a compulsory levy on the table at Cop16 do not achieve this.

“They will have a direct impact on innovation, investment and growth in the UK, made worse by the fact that key nations such as the US will not impose a levy, actively putting the UK at a disadvantage when it comes to cutting-edge medical research to put on,” he said.

Ahead of negotiations in Cali, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) said it had “serious concerns” about a proposed global DSI tax and that it could further complicate research.

Steve Bates, chief executive of the UK Bioindustry Association, said: “Any rules or levies arising from this summit will hinder innovation and business growth… We have already discussed this with the UK government delegation traveling to Colombia.”

The international DSI negotiations at Cop16 are expected to conclude on Friday next week.

An AstraZeneca spokesman said it was possible that other industry representatives present in the room at the Oct. 15 meeting may have made comments about the impact on businesses.

“I can confirm that no AstraZeneca representative has threatened to relocate operations or cut jobs. As a company, we agree with IFPMA’s position, which you can find here,” they said.