AstraZeneca appoints BioCity to develop Alderley Park site

AstraZeneca has announced that BioCity Nottingham has been tasked with establishing a new centre for bioscience firms at Alderley Park, after the Cheshire site is vacated by the pharmaceutical company.

The BioCity management team has been working with AstraZeneca since late 2012 to assess the feasibility of creating a specialist centre for next-generation life science businesses and will provide 36,000 sq ft of high-end laboratory and office facilities for early-stage and growing firms.

AstraZeneca is also set to provide tenant companies with access to restaurants, meeting rooms and conference facilities, with Blueberry Therapeutics, Imagen Biotech and Redx Anti-Infectives set to be among the first round of beneficiaries.

Clive Morris, AstraZeneca's vice-president for research and development, said: "I am confident that with BioCity's experience in this area, we can continue to seek further opportunities to attract future investment and build on the existing world-class facilities available at Alderley Park."

The company will be leaving Alderley Park as part of its previously-announced plans to create a new research centre and corporate headquarters in Cambridge by 2016.