In construction since 2008, the institute is the biggest biomedical research centre in Europe, and will be investigating the fundamental biology underlying human health and disease.
The $807m institute is a collaboration between some of the country’s leading research organisations, including Imperial College London, UCL (University College London), King’s College London, the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK and the Wellcome Trust.
The Crick is bringing together scientists from across disciplines to tackle the pressing health concerns of the 21st century from cancer to antimicrobial resistance. At full capacity in 2017, it will home 1,250 researchers from the various named organizations, as well as 250 support staff, and will operate with an annual budget of $124.
The Francis Crick institute is the latest addition to an already thriving pharmaceutical and biosciences sector throughout the UK, but particularly in the south east. London is at the heart of the so called ‘Golden Triangle’ of medical and life sciences research, which has long linked the capital’s leading research institutions such as University College Hospital, with Oxford and Cambridge.
In 2014, London’s City Hall invested in creating ‘MedCity’ a biotech cluster for London that brings together corporate funding, third sector involvement and academic research to spearhead the next generation of drug development. Key actors in this collaboration include Cancer Research UK, Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre, King’s Health Partners and UCL Partners.
As part of its mission statement, MedCity aims to position the south east of England as a world leading, interconnected region for life sciences research, development, manufacturing and commercialisation – with the overall aim of stimulating economic growth.
With the launch of the Crick Institute, the collaborative approach adopted by research institutions, the supportive policy environment provided by City Hall and the backing of corporate funding, the biosciences and pharmaceutical sectors are set to thrive in London and the south east.
The recent Brexit vote risked throwing into question the future of EU funding for British projects, which many universities depend on for research. However the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, announced that he would to guarantee billions of pounds of UK government investment for projects previously funded by the EU, including science grants. The markets responded positively, indicating confidence in the future of the UK biosciences and pharmaceutical sectors.
The addition of the Crick Institute cements London’s position as one of the world’s leading hubs for research and drug development. This thriving sector is worth $62bn to the UK economy annually, and employs 170,000 people. According to the New York Times, approximately 20% of the world’s best-selling drugs are manufactured in the UK.
As well as its contributions to the economy, this thriving biosciences sector helps make the UK one of the world’s leading medical hubs, with some of Europe’s and the world’s foremost experts practicing both privately and in the expansive NHS system. This has a knock-on effect on many sectors, not least the exhibitions and events industry. Medical conventions make up one of the most lucrative segments of the market, and being a thriving biosciences, pharmaceutical and medical hub simply serves to make London an even more relevant location for medical experts to gather.
