AstraZeneca announces UK laboratory investment

AstraZeneca has announced that it is to invest $120 million (61.28 million pounds) in a process research and development laboratory at its Macclesfield site in the UK. The role of process research and development is to discover and develop methods of manufacturing for the key constituent ingredients in new pharmaceutical products.

The company’s new laboratory will be AstraZeneca’s largest investment at this location, accommodating staff of 170, most of whom will be drawn from the company’s existing staff.

Employees at the site will consist of specialists in chemistry, process engineering and project management. Work to construct the laboratory will commence immediately, with the target date for the start of operations at the facility being mid-2009.

Bryan Mobbs, vice president of process research and development at AstraZeneca, said: “This laboratory will play an important role in strengthening our pipeline of new potential treatments for serious medical disorders.”

He added the company aimed to speed up its development of new pharmaceutical products safely and in a cost-effective manner, with process research and development playing a vital role in these efforts.

Last month, AstraZeneca announced that it would invest $100 million in its research and development centre in Boston, Massachusetts in order to enhance its work in relation to infections diseases and cancer research.