AstraZeneca opens research centre as UK builds science hub, Health News, ET HealthWorld

Prince Charles will likely be readily available Tuesday when pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca opens a 1 billion-pound ($1.34 billion) research centre close to the University of Cambridge, hoping to construct on work in creating one of many first COVID-19 vaccines. The 19,000 square-meter (greater than 200,000 square-foot) advanced will home greater than 2,200 research scientists. It joins a cluster of companies searching for to make Cambridge a hub for all times sciences research much like what California’s Silicon Valley is for the know-how trade.

“Our ambition today is to not only unveil a building, but to also drive the next wave of scientific innovation,” CEO Pascal Soriot mentioned in an announcement.

The Cambridge life sciences cluster consists of 631 firms that make use of nearly 21,000 folks and generate annual income of seven billion kilos, in keeping with Cambridge Ahead, which promotes enterprise growth within the metropolis.

AstraZeneca labored with Oxford University to develop one of many first COVID-19 vaccines permitted by regulators within the U.Ok., European Union and different nations. The vaccine is broadly utilized in creating nations as a result of AstraZeneca has pledged to maintain prices down by promoting it to low- and middle-income nations on a non-profit foundation.

AstraZeneca additionally plans to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the vaccine.