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Pharma giant GSK quits Stevenage for Cambridge

Janine MachinScience and Technology Correspondent
News imagePrologis/Scott Brownrigg An artist impression of the new GSK buildings. They are several stories high and have a green space in the middle of them, bordered by trees. Prologis/Scott Brownrigg
GSK plans to move 1,000 staff into three new R&D buildings which are under construction on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus

The pharmaceutical giant, GSK, has announced plans to close its site in Stevenage and move approximately 1,000 staff to a new R&D facility on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

The company has had a presence in Stevenage for 50 years but says the new location "in the heart of the UK life sciences Golden Triangle" will "accelerate our R&D and help us deliver new, competitive products."

Staff will move in phases, with the Stevenage site earmarked for closure in 2029.

As part of the £400m investment plans, GSK will also upgrade its existing R&D laboratories at Ware in Hertfordshire - and move some employees there.

GSK's new site in Cambridge, which is currently under construction, will feature state-of-the-art labs and infrastructure to support research in its focus areas of oncology, respiratory, hepatology, vaccines and HIV, the company said.

News imagePrologis/Scott Brownrigg An artists impression showing two seven storey buildings connected by a glazed bridge. There are trees and shrubs at the frontPrologis/Scott Brownrigg
GSK says the new site brings them into "the heart of the UK's life science Golden Triangle" and will accelerate research

The Cambridge Biomedical Campus is home to more than 22,000 people working in life sciences, which GSK says "include many existing GSK partners and collaborations", such as the Cambridge Centre for Data-Driven Discovery, Cambridge-GSK Translational Immunology Collaboration; Cambridge-GSK Metabolic Science Collaboration, Cambridge Immune Ageing, the GSK-Teichmann Lab and the company's clinical unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital.

The site also houses pharma competitor, Astrazeneca, alongside Addenbrooke's and Royal Papworth hospitals, with a new Cambridge Cancer Hospital under construction.

News imageCUPH Aerial of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus showing tall research and science buildings spread out across a landscapeCUPH
GSK says being on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus will "accelerate" their R&D

Tony Wood, chief scientific officer at GSK, said: "Cambridge has built one of the world's best life sciences ecosystems, with leading universities, hospitals and biotech companies.

"The campus provides exceptional opportunities for collaboration.

"With our existing connections and experience, we see this move as a catalyst for faster, bolder medicines discovery by accelerating the science that matters most for GSK's next wave of medicines."

Five years ago, GSK announced plans to expand their Stevenage site, with Wood claiming: "Our goal is for Stevenage to emerge as a top destination for medical and scientific research by the end of the decade."

Now, it seems the draw of Cambridge is too strong. Bolstered by the newly opened Cambridge South Station, with direct services to Stevenage, the company says it hopes "most of its staff will move with them".

The site in Cambridge will be part of GSK's wider UK network of collaboration with leading academic institutions and pioneering scientific organisations, including the University of Oxford, King's College London, Imperial College, the University of Manchester, Wellcome and the Crick Institute.

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