MPs plan to probe Pfizer pursuit of AstraZeneca

By Kylie MacLellan and Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - MPs intend to investigate U.S. drugmaker Pfizer's planned $100 billion (59.41 billion pounds) takeover of British rival AstraZeneca in a bid to ensure scientific research and jobs are protected. Members of the parliamentary business, innovation and skills committee are worried that the deal, which would be the biggest-ever foreign acquisition of a British company, could threaten the country's strategic interests. "We will see how events pan out over the next few days, but clearly given the scale of the proposed merger it is important that we consider the impact not just on shareholders but also on employees and the wider interests of the UK.” AstraZeneca, Britain's second-biggest drugmaker behind GlaxoSmithKline, is an important part of the life sciences sector and employs nearly 7,000 staff in the country. Pfizer already has a tarnished reputation in Britain after it announced plans in 2011 to shutter a major drug research site in Sandwich, southern England, where Viagra was invented, with the loss of nearly 2,000 jobs.



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