Pfizer rejects UK site, cites bureaucracy

US drug giant Pfizer has chosen Germany over Surrey, UK, as the location for its European headquarters. The world's largest drugmaker said it was put off by England's complex planning regulations, according to a government report written by Kate Barker, of the UK's Monetary Policy Committee.

New York-headquartered Pfizer, whose inhaled insulin product Exubera was recently rejected by the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Marketletter April 24), will retain its present UK site but will not build its marketing headquarters there, stating that the nation's planning system is steeped in bureaucracy.

According to the MPC report, planning fees for England and Wales total $200.0 million while consultants and lawyers cost a further $200.0 million. The dossier's findings will go before UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown as he considers recommendations for his pre-Budget report.