LONDON, May 13 — Pfizer chief executive Ian Read said today he expected the combined research expenditure of the proposed merged drugmaker with AstraZeneca would be lower than that of the two separate companies following its takeover of AstraZeneca.

Read told a panel of British lawmakers that one of the drivers of his proposed deal was to increase efficiency in order to keep both firms competitive in an increasingly tough marketplace.

The US drugmaker has stirred up a political storm with its US$106 billion (RM342.7 billion) plan to acquire AstraZeneca, which has been rebuffed by the smaller British company.

The deal would be the largest foreign takeover of a British firm and is opposed by many scientists, trade unions and politicians who fear for British science jobs given Pfizer’s track record of cost cutting after past acquisitions. — Reuters