New biomedical engineering centre for Imperial
pharmafile | May 28, 2014 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Cambridge, imperial college london, johnson, medcity, uren
Imperial College London is to build a pioneering biomedical engineering centre that will cement London and the south east’s reputation as “one of the leading regions in the world for game-changing science”.
The University has received an unprecedented £40 million gift from former student Michael Uren OBE and his foundation, to allow construction of the centre at the college’s new 25-acre research and innovation campus in White City, west London.
Known as the Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Hub, the centre will help transform life sciences research into new and affordable medical technology, helping people affected by a diverse range of medical conditions.
Sir Keith O’Nions, president of Imperial College London, says Uren’s gift was “the most generous it has ever received”.
He adds: “It will create a wholly new building and set of facilities for engineers and medics to come together and make new discoveries and innovations on an unparalleled scale. It provides enormous impetus to the development of Imperial West as an innovation district.”
The mayor of London Boris Johnson has also welcomed the news, saying: “I am absolutely delighted at this extremely generous donation that will push forward research in an exciting and crucially important area of medical science.”
Last month the mayor launched MedCity, which aims to transform the London-Oxford-Cambridge life sciences sector into one of the premier, interconnected clusters for life science research, development, manufacturing and commercialisation.
MedCity will receive more than £4 million in funding — £2.9 million from the Higher Education Funding Council and £1.2 million from City Hall — to help promote it across the globe.
The new funding for Imperial will add to the ‘golden triangle’ of research Johnson and the UK government want to create in the south east. It is hoped this will shore up the R&D landscape of the UK, which has slipped in prestige over the years.
Johnson went on: “Biomedical engineering is improving treatments and quality of life for people affected by a diverse range of medical conditions and this new centre has the potential to benefit millions in the UK and around the world.
“This donation, coming so soon after the launch of MedCity, demonstrates unquestionably that London and the South East is one of the leading regions in the world for game-changing science.”
Ben Adams
Related Content
Few in NHS trust tech firms handling patient data
Few in the NHS trust ‘big tech’ companies to handle patient data in a confidential …
AstraZeneca spends more than twice as much as expected on new HQ
AstraZeneca’s new headquarters in Cambridge, United Kingdom are expected to cost more than double the …
Interactions with the Agencies During Drug Development
NDA would like to invite you to join Professor Steffen Thirstrup, Director NDA Advisory Board, formerly Division …
