AstraZeneca facility "a blow for modern science"
5 Feb 2015
Pharmaceuticals firm AstraZeneca has been given consent to build a new UK-based global R&D centre and corporate headquarters by Cambridge City Council.
The Council granted its consent yesterday after plans were first proposed by the drugs manufacturer in March 2013.
The facility will be located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus alongside the likes of the Medical Research Council, the University of Cambridge’s School of Clinical Medicine and Cancer Research UK.
“The decision by the Council today is a blow for modern science
NAVS president Jim Creamer
Executive vice president, Innovative Medicines & Early Development at AstraZeneca, Mene Pangalos said: “Work is underway to prepare the site on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and we look forward to beginning construction in the spring.”
Ahead of the new site becoming operational in 2016, over 400 AstraZeneca staff members have already relocated to interim facilities in Cambridge.
It is expected that the new facility will be home to more than 2,000 AstraZeneca employees.
“Our aim is to create an open, welcoming and vibrant centre that will inspire our teams and partners to push the boundaries of scientific innovation for the benefit of patients,” Pangalos said.
The Cambridge site will bring together AstraZeneca’s small molecule and biologics research and development activity, furthering opportunities to exploit the promise of small and large molecule combinations to make innovative medicines, a statement on the company’s website said.
The site will also feature an animal experimentation facility, which some groups have condemned.
National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) president Jim Creamer said: “The decision by the Council today is a blow for modern science and will condemn thousands of animals to unnecessary suffering.
“The NAVS urges AstraZeneca to step up its use of cutting-edge alternatives and commit to phasing out outdated and unreliable animal tests.”
A statement on AstraZeneca’s UK site said that “animal studies are a vital part of the research process, and are required by regulators before they approve a new medicine to be tested in humans during clinical trials”.
