A spokeswoman for the firm announced on Friday that AstraZeneca has abandoned plans to build a vaccine production facility in Speke, Liverpool, valued at 450 million pounds ($558.32 million).

An AstraZeneca representative said in a statement, "We are no longer pursuing our planned investment at Speke following discussions with the current government."

The timeliness and lower final offer compared to the previous government's proposal are two of the reasons that have affected this decision.

"The facility will continue to manufacture and distribute our flu vaccine to patients in the UK and other countries."

$1 is equal to 0.8060 pounds.