The Prince of Wales has officially opened the new Global Research and Development facility for AstraZeneca at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Prince Charles met with Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s CEO; Leif Johansson, its Chairman; and Sir Mene Pangalos, its Executive Vice-President of Biopharmaceuticals R&D to tour the new facilities during his visit on November 23rd 2021.
According to Clarence House, the new Research and Development facility will play a central role moving forward in AstraZeneca’s strategy to deliver life-changing medicines, and will employ more than 2,000 people working in therapy, drug discovery, and drug development once the facility is fully operational.
Prince Charles saw first hand the Bioscience Lab and the G node exhibition space and learned about Hololens technology, Functional Genomics, and how cell therapy can halt and reserve disease for heart failure and cancer.
He was also given more details about about the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and its antibody before giving a speech and unveiling a plaque to mark the official opening of the Centre.
In his speech, Prince Charles drew upon his own educational background at Cambridge and how the university attracts the top minds as an understanding of “why AstraZeneca, as a pioneering global organization, would choose to invest and make a home here to continue the world-class science you are already undertaking for the benefit of society and human health and to lay the foundations for the ground-breaking innovations of the future.”
Of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine development, Prince Charles said, “You have developed and delivered a vaccine for the world—in a remarkably short time-scale—which will continue to have a positive impact on communities and society for years to come. You have demonstrated, together with your partners, the power of collaboration, of agility and, ultimately, of science itself. And, what is more, you have done it all on a not-for-profit basis.”
Prince Charles also praised AstraZeneca’s commitment to sustainability, saying that they are “embedding innovation in everything you do, in order to improve human, as well as planetary health. Your mission to deliver net zero healthcare via the latest technologies, renewable alternatives and a circular approach, is one from which many within and outside of your sector can learn.”
The Prince of Wales also visited Cambridge market and Homerton College, the University’s most populated college, during his day in the city.
