Prince Charles to open new billion pound science lab in Cambridge

The Discovery Centre is a £1 billion science lab on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
The Discovery Centre is a £1 billion science lab on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Credit: AstraZeneca

Prince Charles will officially open the new £1 billion science lab in Cambridge on Tuesday.

The Discovery Centre is a research and development facility for the pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca.

The lab, based in the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, will be home to more than 2,200 scientists.

The £1 billion science lab under construction on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Credit: AstraZeneca

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca, said: “Our ambition today is to not only unveil a building, but to also drive the next wave of scientific innovation.

"Our new Discovery Centre in Cambridge raises the bar for sustainable R&D and global collaboration across our industry.

"It will allow us to break new boundaries in the understanding of disease biology, bring life-changing medicines to patients and power the next stage of our company’s growth.”

The Discovery Centre has been designed to be environmentally friendly with bore holes, heat pumps and insulation. Credit: AstraZeneca

The lab will use robotics and artificial intelligence to help scientists create specialised and precision medicines.

Dr Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President of Oncology R&D, said: "I think it's a very bold statement that we've got the new building, because it's basically saying that R&D is the future of the company.

"We want to invest in having the best facilities possible to do innovative science. So that in itself is a statement of intent for what we want the future of the company to be."

Scientists will use robotics and artificial intelligence to help create new medicines. Credit: AstraZeneca

Sir Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President of BioPharmaceuticals R&D, said: "The best science doesn't happen in isolation. The research and development centre is at the heart of one of the world's most exciting life-science clusters, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus."

The Discovery Centre is designed to be energy efficient with 174 boreholes to provide natural geothermal energy.

It also uses ground source heat pump, low-energy ventilation and high levels of insulation.

Prince Charles will visit several sites during the day in Cambridge

Prince Charle's visit to Cambridge will also take in a walk to Cambridge Market to meet traders and staff from shops in the city centre.

The day will also include a visit to Homerton College to discuss access to education and learn of the College's vision to welcome and support students from diverse backgrounds.