British drugmaker AstraZeneca plans to expand and relocate its Canadian headquarters within the Greater Toronto Area as part of a new $820-million investment in Ontario.

AstraZeneca said the investment will create 700 scientific and high-skilled jobs in the GTA. The company’s current Canadian headquarters, completed in 2004, is located in the Toronto suburb of Markham, Ont.

The pharmaceuticals giant said the large capital outlay aligns with the company’s goal of achieving US$80 billion in total revenue and bringing 20 new medicines to patients worldwide by 2030. To date, eight new medicines have been introduced, and the company expects to unveil the results of seven Phase III clinical trials in 2025.

“This investment is a reflection of our growing clinical pipeline, our strong belief in Canada’s potential as a global hub for life sciences innovation, and the value of public-private collaboration with the Ontario government,” said Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s CEO.

“We believe the diverse talent pool together with the network of world-class universities, hospitals, and research centres will help us bring new medicines to Canadians and patients worldwide.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that the province, through Invest Ontario, is contributing C$16.1 million to support AstraZeneca’s expansion effort.

Gaby Bourbara, president of AstraZeneca Canada, said the firm’s continued investment in Ontario is crucial to advancing innovative medicines that treat, prevent; and may one day cure complex diseases like prostate, lung, and breast cancer, as well as rare diseases.

AstraZeneca’ investment comes after the company expanded its Canadian footprint in 2024 with the C$3-billion acquisition of Hamilton, Ont.-based Fusion Pharmaceuticals.

Fusion specializes in next-generation radioconjugates that have the potential to transform radiotherapy for cancer patients, according to AstraZeneca. The Fusion deal marked one of the largest research investments in a Canadian biotech firm.

The two large investments strengthen AstraZeneca’s global clinical-research pipeline and bolster Canada’s life-sciences industry, said the company.

AstraZeneca currently employs about 2,100 people across Canada.

The company remains one of Canada’s top research and development (R&D) investors, contributing more than C$230 million to R&D in 2023. The R&D funds support approximately 210 global clinical studies focused on developing new treatments.

Since 2023, AstraZeneca’s total investments in Canada have surpassed C$1.3 billion and created jobs, the firm said.

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