Stevenage 75th anniversary magazine | biz4Biz - Magazine - Page 52
Glaxo
Tony Wood, Senior Vice President,
Medicinal Science & Technology, GSK
said: “The past 18 months has shown the
UK life sciences sector at its best and the
UK has recently unveiled an ambitious
10-year vision for the UK life sciences
sector. Our goal is for Stevenage to
emerge as a top destination for medical
and scientific research by the end of
the decade. We are excited to find a
development partner to realise our vision
to foster the next generation of worldclass scientists and biotechnology firms in
Britain.”
If successful, the new campus could
attract several world-class research
organisations to Stevenage, creating
52
exciting opportunities for collaboration
in a state of the art, life science ecosystem.
The highly-successful Cell and Gene
Therapy Catapult and Stevenage
Bioscience Catalyst are both already on
the site and have attracted a number of
successful start-ups which collectively
have raised around £1.6 billion of
funding. These organisations were set
up with a mixture of public and private
sector support - including from GSK –
and are both involved in the plans which
should enable their expansion.
Dr Sally Ann Forsyth OBE, Chief
Executive Officer, Stevenage Bioscience
Catalyst said: “Stevenage is already
a leading location for life science
w w w. b i z 4 b i z . o r g
companies to develop and commercialise
cutting edge therapeutics. Stevenage
Bioscience Catalyst is home to over 40
companies, and today’s proposal presents
exciting opportunities to build on this
by supporting their growth, attracting
new organisations to the ecosystem
and facilitating further collaboration
with world-class organisations. We look
forward to working with GSK and other
partners to further develop the thriving
life sciences campus in Stevenage.”
The new campus – which would sit next
to GSK’s existing site at Stevenage - could
ultimately deliver 100,000 square metres
of new floorspace for commercial life
sciences research and development.
As one of its two global R&D hubs,
Stevenage is a key location for GSK,
employing world-class scientists and
driving cutting-edge innovation. It is
already the UK’s largest cell and gene
therapy cluster, the third largest globally
and includes GSK R&D activities in the
field. The plan is expected to build on
these strengths.
Initial estimates suggest the plan could
ultimately deliver:
• up to £400 million of investment
in Stevenage from a private sector
developer to build out the campus, over
5 to 10 years; and
• depending on finalisation of proposals
and planning consent, space for up to
5,000 full time, high-skilled jobs.
Councillor Sharon Taylor OBE, Leader