Phoenix from Charnwood’s ashes
pharmafile | October 25, 2013 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | AstraZeneca, Charnwood, medilink
The shuttering of AstraZeneca’s R&D site at Charnwood in Leicestershire has had a positive effect on the region’s life sciences sector, according to a local business organisation.
Announced in March 2010, the closure was part of a company-wide cost-cutting programme to offset patent expiries, and meant 1,200 staff were forced to seek alternative employment.
Some of them have done this via their own start-ups, and Medilink East Midlands says its provision of the Healthcare and Bioscience iNet – a package of measures designed to help fledgling companies – over the last couple of years has been instrumental in helping them to bolster the sector’s local economy.
“The Medilink team was involved in the fall-out of the closure, and through the iNet provided workshops for ex-employees, as well as providing advice on funding, and support through networking,” says chief executive Darren Clark.
The main services offered are information, advice, help with attracting business and grant funding: among the companies getting the latter was XenoGesis, a contract research organisation (CRO) based in Nottingham’s BioCity, whose founder Dr Richard Weaver spent 14 years as an associate principal scientist at AstraZeneca.
“We started with three full-time employees and have now doubled to six, a growth of 100% in 16 months,” said Weaver. “We are committed to becoming the CRO of choice.”
Another CRO at BioCity, Aurelia Bioscience, was set up by three ex-AstraZeneca employees who declined the opportunity to relocate with the company, and specialises in biochemical and cell-based biological test development.
Meanwhile Joanne Broadhead, team manager for liquid manufacturing at AstraZeneca, started her own consultancy for pharma development projects, focussing on all aspects of sterile product development and manufacture.
Using knowledge of paediatric product development gleaned at AstraZeneca, Jenny Walsh has set up as a consultant in this area, offering her services to SMEs and looking to build links with academia.
“The development of paediatric products is generally much more complex than developing adult products,” she said. “Paediatric development is now mandatory for all new patent-protected drugs and incentives are in place to develop off-patent drugs.”
Adam Hill
Related Content
NICE recommends Benralizumab for Rare Form of Vasculitis
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended AstraZeneca’s benralizumab (Fasenra) as …
NICE approves AstraZeneca’s dual immunotherapy for advanced liver cancer
AstraZeneca has received a positive recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence …
Purpose and people: the enduring power of brand and the evolution of employer identity
Two decades ago, terms like purpose and people were rarely at the forefront of branding …
