The latest Business updates from the science industry


by Heather Hobbs Oxford City Council Give Green Light to Advanced R&D Labs


The applications were for the three laboratory buildings’ appearance, layouts and low carbon operation initiatives, alongside enhancements to the central and building-specifi c landscaping.


Plot A has been designed by Fletcher Priest Architects, the project’s masterplanners, and is a fl exible, four fl oor laboratory and offi ce building with dual frontage to the A40 and central landscaping which will total 117,300 ft2 (10,897 m2).


Plot B has been designed by Wilkinson Eyre and is a fi ve fl oor global HQ laboratory and offi ce building and will have its frontage on the A40. The building will total 177,900 ft2 (16,527 m2).


Green light for Oxford North’s next three advanced R&D lab buildings totalling 458k ft2 - The Red Hall, marketplace and Plot C.


Detailed designs for three new, prestigious laboratory and offi ce buildings which total 458,100 ft2 (42,549 m2) and will be built as phase 2 of Oxford North, the new £700 million life sciences innovation district, have been resolved to be approved by Oxford City Council’s planning committee.


Oxford North will deliver one million ft2 (92,903 m2) of laboratory and workspaces, 480 new homes, hotel, nursery, cafes, bars, three public parks and infrastructure.


With outline planning permission for Oxford North’s masterplan and detailed planning permission for phase 1a granted in March 2021, Oxford North Ventures, the joint venture company of Thomas White Oxford, the development company of St John’s College, Cadillac Fairview and Stanhope, submitted the applications for phase 2’s reserved matters (RMAs).


Phase 1a will comprise the Red Hall which will deliver 43,500 ft2 (4,041 m2) of co-working spaces, meeting and workspaces for science and innovation starts-ups and SMEs along with cafe-bar, retail units and community space, and Building 1 and 2 lab buildings which will total 115,000 ft2 (10,683 m2). The market square and central landscape will form the new district’s community and cultural centre. Phase 1a is to target practical completion in Q1 2025.


Phase 2’s Plots A, B & C RMAs were submitted following pre- application discussions, an Oxford Design Review Panel workshop and a four-week public consultation.


Plot C has been designed by Gort Scott and is a fi ve storey global HQ laboratory and offi ce building which will sit inside the central area and opposite the Red Hall and market square. It will total 162,900 ft2 (15,133 m2).


All three buildings will target BREEAM Excellent certifi cation and have 100% electric heating and cooling, effi cient lighting, high levels of fabric performance and optimised ventilation to incorporate heat recovery and solar PV technology. This will achieve a minimum 40% reduction in carbon emissions compared with 2021 Building Regulations.


Bicycle parking for phases 1a and 2 will total 668 spaces which will include 134 short-stay spaces.


Oxford North has continued to provide a signifi cant stimulus for the local economy and employment market to create opportunities for local people. Since infrastructure enabling works started in August 2021, 448 jobs have been created of which 22% of people live in Oxfordshire. The project has also enabled eight new apprenticeships.


David Camp, CEO, Stanhope said: “We are creating a life-enhancing setting for workers, residents and visitors which invites discovery, supports community and enhances well-being.


“We have been working hard to ensure that phase 2 provides much- needed advanced R&D lab and offi ce buildings which have been purposefully designed for future life sciences occupiers giving them the opportunity to customise the fi t-out to their requirements and providing spaces for everyone to enjoy. We look forward to continuing to create construction jobs and vital new science and innovation space for Oxford.”


Charles Rowton-Lee, head of commercial agency - Oxford, Savills added: “Demand for lab space in Oxfordshire is currently circa 1.2 million ft2 with just 5,000 ft2 of current supply. The delivery of Oxford North’s fi rst fi ve new lab buildings will be a signifi cant boost


Oxford North’s Plot B lab building designed by WilkinsonEyre.


for both local and global life sciences companies to accelerate their discoveries here in Oxford. We are already in initial discussions with companies looking for such space, and today’s news means these conversations can be advanced.”


Jonathan Kendall, Partner, Director of Urban Design, Fletcher Priest Architects said: “Receiving approval for Plot A is another successful milestone in our ongoing role on the project, which we have been working on since the strategic masterplanning stage. These three new laboratory and offi ce buildings further reinforces the global ambitions for Oxford North to be a vibrant place which both enables and boosts discovery. It’s been a pleasure to collaborate with the expanding design team and work together to create a series of buildings which are complementary to one another, and to the fi rst phase buildings, as this new place is delivered.”


Stafford Critchlow, Director, WilkinsonEyre, added: “It has been a fascinating process to develop with the team an effi cient commercial life sciences building with an appropriate architecture and landscape setting in this signifi cant new place in Oxford.”


Acting on behalf of Oxford North Ventures are Fletcher Priest Architects, WilkinsonEyre, Gort Scott, AKT II, Hoare Lea, Gustafson Porter and Bowman, Alinea Consulting, Stantec, Savills, PFB, Reef Associates, People Friendly Design, BSG Ecology, and EDP.


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/dLYJ 61218pr@reply-direct.com


Biotech Company Unveils Leadership Changes and Strategic Reorganisation


Darmstadt-based biotech fi rm R-Biopharm AG, which celebrated its 35th anniversary in July, is undergoing management board changes and a strategic overhaul.


Dr Peter Schubert, a long-serving Board of Management member in charge of Research and Development, and Jochen Hirsch, a Board of Management member overseeing subsidiaries and the Food and Feed Analysis business unit, departed on 1st September. CEO Christian Dreher expressed gratitude: “I would like to thank both colleagues for their trusting, committed and successful cooperation on the Board of R-Biopharm, with which we have set the course for our future as a modern, international biotechnology company.”


Dr Schubert, formerly Head of Research and Development, then a Management Board member, introduced ground-breaking technologies and therapeutic approaches during his tenure, some of which led to the establishment of new subsidiaries. After more than two decades, he’s retiring, with Frank Vitzthum taking over his responsibilities starting 1 October. Dr Vitzthum, a biochemistry PhD holder with substantial industry experience, comes from Siemens Healthineers, where he held various roles, including heading R&D for the Specialty Lab Solutions unit and being CEO of


Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Products GmbH. Apart from R&D and customer-focused system solutions, he will oversee Quality Management and Regulatory Affairs at the company, and is looking forward to “advancing relevant as well as innovative technologies together with colleagues at R-Biopharm, which create sustainable value for our company and our customers.”


After eleven years at the company, Jochen Hirsch seeks new challenges in a southern German startup. He has managed up to 28


subsidiaries since 2012, expanding the geographic footprint of the group by founding new subsidiaries and strengthening the life science business. His contributions have signifi cantly driven the company’s success. CEO Christian Dreher will take on his board responsibilities. Dr Frank Apostel, a chemist with a molecular medicine and biochemistry doctorate, will seamlessly handle Sales & Marketing for Clinical Diagnostics and Nutrition Care divisions from 1 September. Having been with the company since 2012, he most recently led R-Biopharm subsidiary Aprimeo Diagnostics GmbH & Co KG.


“I am looking forward to returning to R-Biopharm AG with a fresh perspective on the familiar and by using my experience in sales and business development to help shape the further transformation of the company into a modern, internationally oriented and holistically operating group,” said Apostel.


Christian Dreher: “The new Management Board structure clearly assigns the subsidiaries to sales and marketing units. This will enable us to face the new challenges of the business units with even greater focus.”


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/vAd6 61052pr@reply-direct.com


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