AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre, Constructed by Mace Group
AstraZeneca's newest R&D facility, the Discovery Centre, has been constructed by Mace Group, where the pharmaceutical manufacturer plans to make its next range of medical breakthroughs. The Discovery Centre will be a new HQ and laboratory complex for 2,000 employees, located on the Cambridge, UK, Biomedical Campus.
Oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism and respiratory diseases are among AstraZeneca’s areas of speciality. Its leading products include Tagrisso for lung cancer and Farxiga for diabetes and heart failure. The company is currently expanding its presence in China and investing in mRNA technology for vaccine development.
We featured the company in our Top 10: Biggest Pharma companies in Europe.
Discovery Centre to use AI advancements the for the next developments in medicine
The Discovery Centre will bring scientific minds together, to foster collaboration and interaction, enabling AstraZeneca to make the greatest impact on disease.
It was designed to help scientists to discover new medicines and deliver them where and when they are needed. These scientists will be able to harness the power of data and AI, digital technologies and novel precision medicine approaches.
The centre was built by the Mace Group, the global programme and project delivery consultant and construction expert. With more than 8,000 employees worldwide, Mace delivers some of the world's most complex programmes and projects, of which AstraZeneca's new Discovery Centre is one.
Mace Operations Director John Kiuthi was closely involved in the project.
"You can never forget it's not a normal building you're building. It's the future of science,” he said. “For me, there's nothing more rewarding than thinking sometime in my future I will see AstraZeneca's new discoveries and know we contributed to that facility. It's about having a transparent and collaborative approach. That way it doesn't matter what challenges you face, because you can come through anything."
AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre offers huge advances in healthcare
"It was a genuine collaboration because everyone embraced any and all opportunities to engage. We pushed into conversations openly and authentically,” added Richard Surma, Operational Transition Lead at AstraZeneca. "We recognised that in some cases there would be risks, challenges and costs but that the common objective was that this was about advancing science. After that, things pale into insignificance and you know you just have to get on with it and do the right thing.
"It's wonderful to see people in the building with smiles on their faces, and the feedback has been brilliant. I don't feel like it's my home. I feel like it's their home and that's cool, because that's what it was for."
"With an asset of this magnitude, that time span tends to be at least 12 months,” shared Rob Lemming, Mace MD of Public Sector & Life Sciences. “It's a game changer for the industry. Labs of this magnitude are rarely built."
Andy Smith, Executive Director of AstraZeneca, said that there's usually very distinct teams between the project and the final end-users or scientists.
“What we were able to do is work with those scientists, show them their facility early and make changes to enable it to be ready and fit for purpose,” he added. “It's what I define as 'talent liaison' – working with scientists to ensure that we delivered a facility to the standard they require.
"The backend of this project has really been about how people have interacted with us as a company. Seeing the way they enjoy the building, and how they are interacting in the building, is the reason I do the job."
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