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| 17 April 2007 | 2007-04-17T00:00:00.0000000+01:00 |
| Alistair Darling MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Celebrates ‘Golden Age’ of Science and Innovation at AstraZeneca’s Alderley Park Site
Alistair Darling MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, today visited AstraZeneca in Cheshire to launch the official celebration of Alderley Park’s 50th Anniversary. | Over 140 guests attended the event, joining dignitaries from government, the pharmaceutical industry, academia and the local community to hear a varied programme of speeches from Alistair Darling MP and senior AstraZeneca figures including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, David Brennan.
Mr Brennan, said: “What we celebrate today is an unbroken chain of innovation in which one generation passes on its learning to the next and in which the projects we undertake are not isolated initiatives, but all part of a connected body of work.”
Commenting on the 50th anniversary of AstraZeneca at Alderley Park, Alistair Darling, Trade and Industry Secretary said: "AstraZeneca is a power-house of the North West economy and a world leader in medical research - creating vital new medicines, generating thousands of jobs and billions in investment. The innovation, ideas and energy at Alderley Park over the last 50 years has played a major part in the fight against heart disease and cancer. The company continues to contribute strongly to the renaissance of the North West. That is a proud record and one which sets the benchmark for the next 50 years."
Alderley Park was purchased by ICI in 1950 with the aim of creating a new research site specifically for its pharmaceutical business, which would attract world-leading scientists. Construction of the original Mereside complex began in 1955 and the research and development laboratories were officially opened two years later on 1 October 1957.
Since then the Company has invested significantly on the site to maintain its position at the forefront of pharmaceutical science and innovation, most recently unveiling a cutting-edge £60m Cancer Research Area facility in 2006.
Alderley Park is where several of the world’s most important medicines have been discovered and developed including the invention of beta-blockers
which revolutionised the treatment of certain heart diseases. New hormonal treatments for breast and other cancers were also developed here which have gone on to become market leaders, and have played a major role in today's much improved treatment of cancer, bringing benefit to thousands of people.
Covering 400 Acres, 80 per cent of which remains woodland, water and farmland, Alderley Park is part of a former historical country estate. These features are contrasted by newer developments including ultra-modern buildings of sandstone, steel and glass which house cutting-edge and high-tech equipment for 21st century research and development.
The keynote speech of the launch event was given by Professor Sir James Black, who worked at Alderley Park between 1958-1964 and who was awarded a Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1988 for his contribution to medicine and discovery of ‘important principles for drug treatment’. This included the invention of beta-blockers, a pioneering treatment for heart diseases.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $26.47 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4 Good Index.
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17 April, 2007
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