GlaxoSmithKline invites international researchers to open lab

GlaxoSmithKline has demonstrated its commitment to collaborative research by inviting external scientists from a number of countries to work at its open laboratory in Tres Cantos, Spain.

Eight scientists from four countries have become the first to take up the open lab placements offered by the company as it seeks to assist in the development of new treatments for diseases such as malaria that affect developing nations.

UK scientists participating in this scheme include members of a Durham University team studying kinetoplastid protozoan parasites, as well as representatives of an Imperial College London-led project concerning P. falciparum inhibitors.

These independent researchers will work alongside 120 GlaxoSmithKline scientists and will benefit from access to cutting-edge facilities and expertise.

Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, trustee and chair of the governing board at Tres Cantos Open Lab Foundation, said: "This is an innovative model for research collaboration, with the potential for transformative outcomes for medicine in the developing world."

In May 2011, the firm announced that it will be helping to create a new inflammatory disease research centre in Manchester, in partnership with AstraZeneca and the University of Manchester.