GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is on the verge of announcing a development partner, as they look deploy investment into the UK and create a new bioscience cluster near its research base in Stevenage.
Last year they outlined their desire to develop a 33-acre site in Hertfordshire which would become a life science hub creating up to 5,000 jobs locally – one of the largest bioscience clusters in Europe. The site has the potential to provide 100,000 sq m of floorspace according to GSK.
The site is likely to be sold to a development partner, in the hope of unlocking circa £400m – which will then be invested into the hub.
The Stevenage campus is one of GSK’s two main R&D sites and also houses the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, set up in 2012 with government funding to bridge the gap between scientific research and full-scale commercialisation, as well as the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, which houses more than 40 start-ups.
GSK’s move comes after AstraZeneca officially opened its £800m Discovery Centre (DISC) R&D facility in Cambridge last November, said to be the biggest science lab of its kind in the UK.
Meanwhile, in March the organisation behind the Canary Wharf development in London said it plans to build one of the largest commercial laboratory facilities in Europe as part of a drive to make the east London site a hub for the life sciences sector.
The 750,000 sq. ft. facility is the first phase in the creation of what the developers hope will become a thriving location for life sciences companies on a 3.3 hectare site at North Quay in east London.
The UK life sciences sector enjoyed a record year for investment, raising £4.5 billion in public and private financings in 2021, which was a rise of around 60% on the previous year.
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