In past decades, Big Pharma has relied on attracting the most promising researchers with signature buildings and the best-equipped labs on the site of huge manufacturing plants. In such new and expensive facilities, it was assumed that innovation would surely thrive.
But now that production has moved to cheaper regions, pipelines have dried up and getting new drugs to market is harder than ever, many of these facilities have become white elephants. Even mega mergers with the pioneering biotech sector seemed to result in innovation atrophy. Now, Big Pharma has to find new models for R&D. Where once it focused on in-house R&D, it is now looking to forge greater links and partnerships with the vibrant biotech/spin-off culture that is pushing the boundaries in areas such as personalised medicine, theranostics and cell therapy.
National governments are also adapting to the changing medicinal landscape. Their encouragement of ‘super clusters’ is aimed at attracting investment and critical mass in the new medicinal business. The result has been a flurry of new building projects and bio-parks across Europe and the US – all with a remit of supporting open innovation. London and Cambridge, in particular, have seen an influx of interest.
London’s Francis Crick Institute is a prime example. Known colloquially as ‘The Crick’, it has been financed to the tune of £650m by a consortium of six UK scientific and academic organisations – the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust, University College London (UCL), Imperial College London and King’s College London.
Location was seen as key to the success of this facility; it is close to London universities and hospitals as well as right next to Eurostar – just a two-hour train journey from Paris.
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