GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is planning to invest £400m in a major new science hub in Cambridge as it looks to increase its pace of drug development.
This decision will also bolster the Government’s efforts to turn the 100-mile corridor between Oxford and Cambridge into an economic powerhouse.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has termed GSK's investment was “a vote of confidence in British business”.
The Cambridge hub also houses rival AstraZeneca, Addenbrooke's and Royal Papworth hospitals.
GSK hopes to build its links with research hospitals in Cambridge and benefit from proximity to Cambridge and Oxford universities, and London.
However, this move will end the pharmaceutical major's 50-year relationship with Stevenage, Hertfordshire, which was previously its main UK research base.
The staff will move in phases, with the Stevenage site earmarked for closure in 2029.
GSK will also upgrade its existing R&D laboratories at Ware in Hertfordshire, and move some employees there.
The company said its new site in Cambridge, which is currently under construction, will feature labs and infrastructure to support research in oncology, respiratory, hepatology, vaccines and HIV.
The company has been accelerating investment in cancer drugs after it acquired US-based Nuvalent in June.
Three of the seven drugs identified for faster development were cancer medicines.
GSK has also launched a £1.9 billion cost-savings effort to help fund the drugmaker's expanded late-stage study roster.
The savings will come from AI-led technology shifts, streamlining support services and supply chains, and reallocating resources to specialty medicines.
The restructuring is a major step by CEO Luke Miels to reassure investors that GSK can navigate a looming patent cliff for its blockbuster HIV drug, dolutegravir, between 2028 and 2030.
