Completion put back to 2020 as cost spirals

Herzog & de Meuron's AstraZeneca headquarters in Cambridge

Herzog & de Meuron’s AstraZeneca headquarters in Cambridge

Further delays to the construction of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca’s new headquarters in Cambridge could push the building’s final price tag to more than £500m.

Completion of the Herzog & de Meuron-designed project is now expected in the first half of 2020, nearly three years behind schedule.

AstraZeneca, which develops treatments for heart disease, cancer and respiratory illnesses, had expected to move into the building, located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, in the latter part of last year.

Following a review of the project the client has replaced Skanska with Mace as construction manager for the scientific fit-out and commissioning phase of the project.

The original cost of the development, which will include the pharmaceutical firm’s global R&D hub, was originally £300m, although this had subsequently been revised upwards to £500m.