Eisai has officially opened its new ‘European Knowledge Centre’ (the EKC) in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
The new facility will house the company’s UK sales and marketing operations and discovery research and clinical development teams, as well as its first manufacturing facility in Europe.
The centre will also bring more than 500 jobs to the area, including 250 newly-created jobs in research.
Speaking at the opening of the EKC, Ivan Lewis MP, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, said: “This government has put the pharmaceutical industry at the heart of its economic agenda, and we are delighted to see this level of investment being made by Eisai. It is a real sign of confidence in the direction the UK and European economies are taking.”
President and CEO of Eisai, Mr Haruo Naito CBE, said: “Eisai believe that integrating all company functions on a single site will both encourage the creation of knowledge and improvements in our quality, efficiency and productivity. The newly opened European Knowledge Centre will not only act as a hub for managing our current business across Europe but it will play an important role in supporting our operations in driving further growth for Eisai in Europe, one of our key investment markets.”
Sir Terry Pratchett, the best-selling author and Alzheimer’s disease sufferer, was also present at the opening and welcomed the new research facility as step towards the further development of treatments for the disease, adding: “I hope everyone employed in it works overtime!”