3M Drug Delivery Systems relocates UK R&D to new, state-of-the-art facility
Posted: 2 April 2019 | 3M | No comments yet
Environment plays a significant role in the way businesses ideate, communicate and create. While the global population is more connected than ever, there’s a certain level of collaboration that can only be achieved with proximity. To that end, 3M Drug Delivery Systems’ (DDS) UK organisation is bringing its teams under one roof, with 120 research and development employees moving to the DDS R&D Inhalation Centre of Excellence, Building 39 on Charnwood Campus in Loughborough. The new building will officially open in April.
Charnwood Campus is the first and only officially designated Life Sciences Opportunity Zone (LSOZ) in the United Kingdom. The purpose of the LSOZ designation is to bring together science and technology-based organisations to build a community of like-minded expertise and knowledge sharing.
“I’m delighted that 3M’s Drug Delivery Systems Division has moved its research and development lab to Charnwood Campus. 3M’s work in the field of life sciences, producing pharmaceuticals and cutting-edge med tech, makes it one of the most innovative enterprises in Leicester and Leicestershire,” said Kevin Harris, Chair, Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership. “I’m particularly pleased that 3M is able to take advantage of Charnwood Campus’ dual designation as both an Enterprise Zone and the UK’s first Life Sciences Opportunity Zone. LSOZ status means greater collaboration between academia and industry, to drive forward the life-saving discoveries of tomorrow.”
The new R&D site covers more than 1,300 square metres of specifically-configured laboratory space for the development of inhalation therapies to treat diseases like asthma and COPD. The relocation was a two-year process that involved the complete overhaul and modernisation of a long-dormant property.
“This move is very exciting because most of our incredible UK-based R&D team will now be working together closer than before, to pursue groundbreaking innovations in the field of drug delivery technology,” said Silvia Perez, 3M DDS, President and General Manager. “Improved collaboration, networking and interaction between the business and R&D functions is beneficial to reaching our goals.”
