AstraZeneca welcomes new arrivals as Alderley Park BioHub expands

AstraZeneca today announced the second wave of arrivals to the BioHub at its Alderley Park site in Cheshire. The six organisations, Gentronix Limited, Cyprotex Discovery Limited, Bionow, OncoTherics Limited, Integral Finance and The Research Network will join the existing tenants at the BioHub, which was set up by AstraZeneca as a collaborative R&D centre in which bioscience businesses can take advantage of Alderley Park’s scientific heritage and state-of-the-art research facilities.

The growth of the BioHub complements the work of the Alderley Park taskforce to capitalise and build on the existing local bioscience network and expertise, and to support the growth of the life-science business cluster in the North West region. The taskforce, which was established following AstraZeneca’s announcement that its R&D facilities will be relocated to Cambridge by 2016, is working to help ensure Alderley Park sustains high value employment and investment opportunities to support the local economy into the future.

The taskforce, which brings together partners across Local Government, the University of Manchester and the Local Enterprise Partnership to ensure the discussions are locally-driven and focused on delivery, is currently assessing sustainable business models for the future of Alderley Park, and undertaking activity to encourage new investment, enterprise and employment opportunities into the area.

Chris Brinsmead, the Government’s Life Sciences Adviser and co-chair of the taskforce said: “The work of the taskforce is well underway and, by bringing together the key local stakeholders we are making important progress in securing the future of Alderley Park. It is great to see AstraZeneca’s BioHub initiative bearing fruit, as we continue to assess options for the site as a whole. I’ve been impressed by the support and dedication of the taskforce members and AstraZeneca’s commitment to ensuring a vibrant future for Alderley Park. I’ve no doubt that the site will continue to be an important centre for life-sciences in the North West well into the future.”

Clive Morris, UK Strategic Implementation Lead at AstraZeneca and co-chair of the taskforce said: “We are excited to be able to announce the arrival of more BioHub tenants today. Along with our existing tenants these companies add to the richness of the bioscience expertise located at Alderley Park, and will play a role in securing longer term investment and employment opportunities. We are also pleased to see the progress of the taskforce in helping to shape a strong and sustainable future for Alderley Park – a future we will be very much a part of through our continuing presence on the site.”

The Alderley Park BioHub was launched by AstraZeneca in May, with the arrival of RedX Anti-Infectives Limited, Blueberry Therapeutics and Imagen Biotech.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the Alderley Park BioHub

AstraZeneca established the BioHub at its Alderley Park site in Cheshire in May 2013. The BioHub has been set up to allow pharmaceutical and life science companies to take advantage of the world class facilities available at the site, while operating entirely independently. The BioHub is being managed by BioCity, a leading bioscience incubator, on AstraZeneca’s behalf. BioCity is acting as the interface between AstraZeneca and the BioHub tenants.

About Gentronix Limited

Gentronix provides services and solutions to help organisations optimise the development of drugs and other chemicals, by reducing attrition due to genotoxicity, thus ensuring safer products across a wide range of chemistry driven industries. www.gentronix.co.uk.

About Cyprotex Discovery Limited

A subsidiary of Cyprotex plc, a contract research organisation specialising in in-vitro ADME and toxicology screening as a service to the pharmaceutical and other industries.

About Bionow

A membership organisation supporting business growth, competitiveness and innovation in the biomedical and life science sectors across Northern England. Bionow maintains representation across the North from offices in Manchester, Newcastle, Daresbury and hot desks at Science City York and now BioHub. www.bionow.co.uk.

About OncoTherics Limited

A new pharmaceutical company focusing on the development of novel hypoxia-activated pro drugs for the treatment of a wide range of cancers.

About Integral Finance

A specialist consultancy providing tailored business partnering to high-growth potential businesses, focusing mainly on the life science sector. The company brings financial expertise to its clients, identifies opportunities for business growth, and helps manage risk.

About The Research Network

Providing pharmaceutical R&D scientific consultancy, project leadership and due dilligence services. The experienced team has in depth expertise across the key drug discovery and development disciplines covering both small molecule and biotherapeutics, and has an established global network of service providers.

About the Taskforce

On 18 March 2013 AstraZeneca announced its intention to establish a new global R&D centre and corporate headquarters in Cambridge in the UK by 2016. Under the proposals, AstraZeneca confirmed that research and development work will no longer be carried out at the Alderley Park site, which today houses around 2,900 employees. Approximately 1,600 roles will relocate from Alderley Park over the next three years, and at least 700 non-R&D roles are expected to remain at the site.

In line with this announcement The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills agreed with AstraZeneca and local leaders that a taskforce would be established to coordinate work to support Alderley Park staff and the local and regional economy during the transition.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, inflammation, autoimmune, oncology, infection and neuroscience diseases. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more information please visit: www.astrazeneca.com.