Abbvie Makes Brookfield’s ARC Oxford it’s Home as Part of More Than £120M Investment in UK Life Sciences
Abbvie Makes Brookfield’s ARC Oxford it’s Home as Part of More Than £120M Investment in UK Life Sciences
Abbvie Makes Brookfield’s ARC Oxford it’s Home as Part of More Than £120M Investment in UK Life Sciences
AbbVie, has announced the expansion of its UK R&D facility, AbbVie Oxford. The new 12,000 sq. ft site at ARC Oxford will expand AbbVie’s research capabilities across immunology, neuroscience and oncology.
The opening builds on capabilities established through AbbVie’s acquisition of Oxford-founded biotechnology company DJS Antibodies in October 2022 and combines the agility and entrepreneurial spirit of a biotech with the scale and expertise of AbbVie’s worldwide R&D network. It forms part of more than £120 million invested and committed to scientific research, academic collaborations and talent development across the UK life sciences ecosystem.
“AbbVie Oxford is expanding to further harness the leading life sciences ecosystem in Oxford that brings together academic and clinical expertise and strong scientific talent,” said Jon Sedgwick, Ph.D., senior vice president and global head of discovery research, AbbVie. “Human biology and reverse translation are fundamental to our approach for identifying promising disease targets and combination therapies to advance potential new medicines for people living with serious diseases where significant unmet needs remain. This investment will help us build on that approach as we expand our scientific capabilities and deepen collaboration across the UK life sciences ecosystem.”
“Scientific discovery is only the beginning. Its real impact comes when innovations reach the patients who need them,” said Kelly Sanderson Schrems, vice president and general manager, AbbVie UK. “Countries that combine good access and uptake of innovative medicines with world-class research and development are best placed to attract global life sciences investment and improve health outcomes. The UK has made important commitments on life sciences growth. Delivering on these commitments is critical to maintaining global competitiveness and ensuring innovative medicines reach patients.”
AbbVie supports and engages with more than 100 universities and research organisations each year in the UK, supporting the broader scientific ecosystem and helping create opportunities to advance breakthrough science. One collaboration with the University of Oxford is exploring how patients with certain inflammatory conditions respond, both molecularly and clinically, to different treatments across an extended phase of their disease course, helping to guide the development of medicines in the future. AbbVie also funds a postdoctoral research programme at the University of Oxford to investigate the biological drivers of a number of inflammatory diseases.
Abbvie’s new facility will sit alongside a growing community of life sciences, healthcare and technology organisations at ARC Oxford, including Perspectum, Oxford Biomedica, Oxford Biodynamics, OMass Therapeutics and Accession Therapeutics.
Dan Williams, Asset Management Director at ARC Oxford, said:
“We’re delighted that AbbVie has chosen ARC Oxford following its acquisition of DJS Antibodies. DJS is a great example of Oxford’s strength in organic innovation – being a homegrown company whose pioneering science has attracted the backing of a global biopharmaceutical business.”
“Building 5510 puts them right at the heart of the campus, a stone’s throw from the new Cowley Train Line project and sitting alongside a mature community of like-minded businesses working across life sciences, healthcare and technology.
“Creating a diverse concentration of innovation is central to our vision for ARC Oxford, providing an environment where companies of all sizes can take advantage of the Campus location, infrastructure and facilities allowing them to grow and succeed.”
The campus is home to an expanding life sciences ecosystem, with recent investment increasing the range of space available to science and tech businesses throughout their growth journey. This includes Motherlabs ARC’s accelerator space, providing fitted laboratory space with shared services for early-stage and scaling life sciences companies, and Adapt Oxford, co working space.
ARC Oxford is as a major science and innovation destination within the city of Oxford.
The arrival of AbbVie also brings further international investment into Oxford’s life sciences sector, connecting locally founded innovation with the global research and development capabilities of one of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies.
