Wednesday 13th June 2007
GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) new Clinical Imaging Centre (CIC) was officially opened today by the Right Honourable Alistair Darling MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
Video of CIC opening
The new centre represents an investment of over £50 million and is a pioneering collaboration between industry, academia and the public sector. Commenting on the collaboration and state-of-the-art facility, Mr Darling said, “This new centre is right at the forefront of the fight against some of the major diseases in the world. It means a world leading facility based here in the UK bringing the best of industry and academia together backed by the Government. It will give researchers what they need to enhance our reputation as a world leader in science, research and putting great ideas into practice, speeding up the process to deliver the new medicines that patients need.”
GSK’s CIC is a unique venture undertaken by GSK, Imperial College London and the Medical Research Council - the largest new imaging centre in Europe dedicated to development and application of imaging techniques for clinical research. The collaboration will combine the expertise and knowledge each partner has developed in the use of imaging technologies and will apply it to the development of new medicines across a broad range of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and psychiatric and neurological disorders. One of the world’s largest industry-university-government collaborations, the CIC will create a globally-recognised centre of expertise in West London and substantially increase the entire research base in medical imaging in the UK.
“GSK’s investment in this state-of-the-art research facility reflects the positive environment for science and innovation in the UK. The science we conduct here will transform the lives of patients in the UK and around the world. It is important to us, and to the UK, that the environment remains supportive.” said Dr Moncef Slaoui, Chairman, GlaxoSmithKline Research & Development. “This facility will allow GSK to partner with Imperial College and the MRC to create a world-class scientific collaboration, utilising the latest advancements in imaging to better understand diseases and how to treat them.”
Bringing together leading scientists and state-of-the-art technologies, GSK CIC is the largest purpose-built clinical imaging centre in Europe.
The CIC forms part of the Burlington Danes Reseach Building, which is a unique research collaboration between GSK, Imperial College and the Medical Research Council.
