One the UK’s largest science and innovation parks has revealed plans to double in size as it celebrates its ten-year anniversary.
Discovery Park, based near Sandwich in Kent, marked the milestone by announcing its plans for the next ten years, which include the creation of a national centre of excellence for neuroscience, alongside life sciences, agri-tech and renewable energy technologies.
The celebrations coincided with Discovery Park hosting ‘Biotech unplugged: From cell to software’ which highlighted the move towards data-driven healthcare. The event featured experts from Google, Huma, Pfizer and SomX, and focused on how the emergence of TechBio is speeding up innovation and collaboration across academia and industry.
Mayer Schreiber, CEO of Discovery Park, said: “Already home to firms employing more than 3,500 people, we are confident that, thanks to our continued investment in the park including our new life sciences incubator building, we can attract more world class businesses.”
Focus on life sciences
The life sciences incubator will offer 50,000 sq ft of laboratory and office space for start-ups and early-stage companies, including biotech, medtech and digital health firms. The investment by Discovery Park was matched by £2.5m from the Government’s Getting Building Fund.
Pfizer’s Research and Development Centre of Excellence is the park’s largest tenant. The Pfizer team at Sandwich operates its largest research and development facility in Europe and is home to the only fully automated pilot manufacturing centre.
Julian Thompson, Vice President, Global Regulatory Operations and Sandwich Site Head for Pfizer, said: “We are incredibly proud of the impact our scientists have on patients globally, with a high percentage of Pfizer small molecule products worldwide passing through the Sandwich site on their development journey.
“We look forward to the future collaborations in our effort to set the UK apart as a destination for global investment in life sciences.”
