Astra Zeneca, put its current difficulties aside this week when it unveiled Cambridge Biomedical Campus as the location of its new £330 million global headquarters.
The pharmaceutical giant has suffered from falling sales of late as patents on some of its leading products have expired.
Chief executive Pascal Soirot remains confident in the firm’s long term future and sees the relocation to Cambridge as an important step in his strategy to improve research and boost acquisitions.
The new HQ will be completed by 2016, when 2,000 people are expected to be based there. However, Soirot hopes to begin transferring staff to the site later this year where they will be temporarily accommodated in rented space.
“We will have people based here potentially at the end of the year and we will start benefitting from the location,” he said.
Astra Zeneca’s new home will become a major centre for research into cancer and cardiovascular disease as well as focusing on metabolic, respiratory and autoimmune conditions. It is hoped that the relocation could lead to greater collaboration as Cancer Research UK is just one of a number of leading research bodies already based on the site.
Soirot continued; “Cambridge competes on the global stage as a respected innovation hub for life sciences and our choice of site puts us at the heart of this important ecosystem, providing valuable collaboration opportunities.
“Moving to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus means our people will be able to rub shoulders with some of the world’s best scientists and clinicians carrying out some of the world’s leading research – that’s a really exciting prospect. We hope that our move will contribute to the growing success of Cambridge.”
Cambridge Biomedical Campus is jointly owned by Liberty Property Trust and Countryside Properties and describes itself as an ‘urban healthcare village’ and an ‘ABC community’ for academics, businesses and clinicians.
It is currently in the process of a large expansion and has outline planning permission for the development of 70 acres of greenbelt land. This will be used to provide a further 215,000 sq m of laboratories, offices and clinics.
In addition there are plans for a conference centre, a private hospital and a hotel. The internationally renowned Papworth Hospital, the largest specialist cardiothoracic centre in the UK, is also due to relocate to the campus in 2016.
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