Peter’s photo was runner up in the original competition won by Mike Gittos of TWI and his photos was put forward with two others for a public vote. He wins a voucher for a Wildlife Training Workshop.
A total of 157 images were entered into the regional competition, 53 of which were from staff on Granta Park. Another competition is planned for the Spring. All the winning images can be seen at www.wildlifebcnp.org.
Alexandra Avgustinova from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK was awarded first prize of £2,000 for her research entitled Characterisation of the Tumor-Fibroblast Cross-talk in a Mouse Model of Disease Progression. “For any young scientist, the opportunity to share scientific work is extremely rewarding. Beyond that, having my work acclaimed by a panel of experts is a great honour indeed,” commented Alexandra Avgustinova. “Receiving this award fuels my hope and desire to see my research in practical application in the future. I would like to thank The Institute of Cancer Research for enabling me to conduct this research and MedImmune for the recognition.”
Second and third prizes of £1,000 and £500 were awarded to Metamia Ciampricotti from The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Holly Barker from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK, respectively Congratulating the winners, Dr Thorsten Hagemann, Clinical Senior Lecturer, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, UK and one of the competition’s judges said, “It is extremely encouraging to see the quality of scientific work being produced by these young scientists. Initiatives such as this competition are an essential part of our fight against cancer – highlighting new research, helping us to discover fresh scientific talent and new therapeutic solutions to human disease. Alexandra’s research is cutting edge science which will have an immediate impact on cancer treatment”.
“MedImmune is committed to fostering the development of the next generation of leading scientists focused on improving human health. This competition provides us with the opportunity to highlight and reward the innovative work of talented scientists, which in the current economic climate we feel is especially important,” said Matthew McCourt, Director of Biology, Oncology at MedImmune. “We congratulate all ten finalists for being selected in this tough, competitive programme and feel privileged to be able to provide some recognition for their dedication.”
The competition was open to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in Europe with ten finalists shortlisted to present their research to an expert panel of judges including Dr Thorsten Hagemann, Clinical Senior Lecturer, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, UK, Dr Christian Blank, Group Leader, Immunology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands and a senior executive from both MedImmune and AstraZeneca. The focus of the competition – tumour microenvironments – reflects the research interests of MedImmune’s UK-based Oncology Department in Cambridge. The three winners were announced at the awards ceremony in Cambridge University’s prestigious Downing College following evaluation of their presentations on the basis of scientific merit, innovation and delivery.
About MedImmune
Located on Granta Science Park Cambridge
MedImmune, the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca plc. (LSE: AZN.L, NYSE: AZN) has approximately 3,500 employees worldwide and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
For more information, visit MedImmune's website at www.medimmune.com
Picture - Competition winners, from left to right: Metamia Ciampricotti, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands - second place. Alexandra Avgustinova, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK, - first place. Holly Barker, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK, - third place.
Dr Tristan Vaughan, a senior director of lead generation, was recognised in the list completed by PharmaVOICE 100 for the positive contributions he has made to MedImmune, his communities and the motivation he has provided to colleagues and peers. “Dr Vaughan has continually driven improvements in the technologies that have successfully delivered drugs that make a meaningful difference to patients. This is what motivates him, not position, salary, or recognition,” said the magazine.
“Dr Vaughan exemplifies the spirit of innovation that is central to MedImmune’s mission and we are very proud that his work has been recognised by PharmaVOICE,” said Dr Jane Osbourn, Site Leader, Cambridge, UK and Vice President of Research and Development. “Dr Vaughan demonstrates the inspiring dedication of our scientists to delivering life-changing products to help patients with unmet medical needs.”
Dr. Vaughan has been central to the development of two life-changing medications, including the first fully human antibody to reach the market as well as the first new treatment option for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in more than 50 years. He currently leads a team of more than 80 working on refining the technologies that have successfully delivered drugs that make a meaningful difference to patients.
Says Roz Bird, Granta Park’s Marketing and Asset Manager: “We are delighted that Dr Vaughan has been recognised in this way, his success will undoubtedly inspire many other people working here at Granta Park in our special high-tech community.”
Dr Gail Wasserman from MedImmune in the US was also recognised by the list. Dr. Wasserman’s pioneering development work contributed to the introduction of the first monoclonal antibody approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help prevent an infectious disease.
Picture: Dr Tristan Vaughan
Companies at Granta Park are being invited to discuss their toughest single-use technology challenges and see the latest technologies available to help on Monday (18 July) when Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Biopharma Dynamics brings its roadshow to the park.
“As well as seeing the latest in single use technologies it will be an opportunity to talk through any challenges companies might have,” says Joe Brennan form BioPharma Dynamics. “We know what products we have and how they fit in but we don’t always know the challenges for the end user. It’s also an opportunity for companies to come to us with their own ideas.”
The event will feature the latest products, upgrades and new applications offered by Saint-Gobain and its authorised channel distributor Biopharma Dynamics. Eight single-use technologies designed for biopharmaceutical applications will be demonstrated, including the newest tubing formulations, sterile connection systems, complete custom manifolds, a full line of biopharm tubing and equipment for automating the production process. The roadshow vehicle will be located in the car park behind the PPD building from 8am until 5pm.
For further details contact Joe Brennan on 07841 460184 or joe@biopharmadynamics.com.
Staff at Granta Park raised £347.65 for victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami during a lunch time walk round the science park’s 120 acres of grounds last month.
Participants donated £1 per mile in the event, which was organised by Kim Burgess, Facilities Manager at PPD. Says Kim: “It was a good day and really nice to see everyone out and about walking or running around the park for such a worthy cause. The Granta Park Social Committee wanted to do something to help the relief effort and we are delighted to have raised this amount.”
More than 8,000 people died, thousands were injured and at least 12,000 people are still missing following the earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck Japan on 11 March. According to the British Red Cross many people are living in evacuation centres as 14,000 homes have been destroyed and around 100,000 are damaged.
A team of seven have moved into the offices, with plans to expand to ten by the autumn. Says the company’s CEO Barbara Spurrier: “We chose Granta Park to be at the heart of a technology hot-spot, whilst having fantastic access to major transport links. We could not have wished for a warmer and more flexible welcome.”
The company also hopes to take advantage of being based within a thriving science community. “Being based in a recognised technological centre alongside a number of other new ventures is critical to attracting the right calibre of staff, and to ensure the resources are available for the platform build-out”, says Oloco COO Alastair Kidd.
For Granta Park the move highlights the advantages that a flexible lease scheme on a major science park can offer start-ups. Says Marketing and Asset Manager Roz Bird: “Oloco is an excellent example of how being part of an established science community can offer a real boost to start-ups. Here they can collaborate with other occupiers on the park and the wider science community with everything from science lunches and networking events to rounders tournaments. They are also able to take advantage of facilities including a gym and nursery. It’s already been shown that the system works. Accelonix, the first company to take advantage of the scheme, has now signed a lease to remain at the Park long term.”
Oloco is developing and building a collaborative SaaS (software as a service)/Cloud based accountancy and financial management platform which will incorporate accountancy functionality, business intelligence, and financial analytics and decision support features. “We believe that mid-market (up to £50M turnover) organisations are underserved by current SaaS accounting offers, and we aim to fill this gap,” explains Alastair Kidd.
Oloco is a sister entity of the strategic financial outsourcing firm Cambridge Financial Partners, formed by Barbara Spurrier in 1995 and is presently being re-branded to ProCFO and will be headquartered in London to reflect its growing number of City based clients.
The Greenlite ‘offices made simple’ scheme offers short, flexible leases. A clear, eight page tenancy agreement does away with the need for solicitors’ fees with tenants able to move in straight away. Offices of 800 sq ft are available in Granta Park’s McClintock Building suitable for up to 6 people and, from 2,500 sq ft in the Riverside development for up to 25 people. For details visit www.grantapark.co.uk.
For any enquiries about Oloco, please contact Alastair Kidd, a.kidd@oloco.co, 01223 853480.
Picture: Alastair Kidd and Barbara Spurrier of Oloco
“We are delighted that a compound we discovered will now be able to help patients who have been suffering for a long time and also that the company is growing and developing so that we will be able to bring more drugs to the market,” says Andy Williams, MedImmune’s VP and Cambridge Site General Manager. “And the fantastic thing about it is that three of the people who identified the antibody 12 years ago here in Cambridge are still with MedImmune, which is very unusual in this industry.”
The new drug, belimumab (known as Benlysta), has been approved by the US Food & Drug Administration for marketing in the US and is about to be available through Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline for sufferers of Lupus, an auto-immune disease in which a person’s antibodies attack themselves. Around 1 in 1000 people suffer from Lupus. The antibody was originally identified in Cambridge by the then Cambridge Antibody Technology (now MedImmmune, the global biologics unit of AstraZeneca) in collaboration with Human Genome Sciences. “This is the second major new drug which has been discovered at our Cambridge facility following on from adalimumab (known as Humira) a leadingrheumatoid arthritis biologic.”
MedImmune’s new offices at Granta Park’s Riverside facility will initially house 50 staff involved in clinical development and will grow to 90 in the next one to two years. The company has fitted out the building to include the installation of a high definition video conferencing suite for communicating with its sites worldwide. In just nine years MedImmune has expanded from one 20,000 sq ft laboratory building to more than 200,000 sq ft of laboratory and office buildings at Granta Park. Adds Andy Williams: “Granta Park has stood beside us in good and bad times and their flexibility and responsiveness has allowed us to grow at the rate we have wanted to, which has often been a big growth and then nothing for a while. They have bent over backwards to fully understand and meet our needs, allowing us to grow from 300 to 500 staff based on the Estate in the last three years.”
MedImmune has and continues to be involved in the scientific community of Granta Park, including collaborating with other companies such as with scientific poster events. Adds Williams: “Having companies such as Pfizer here is a good thing for us, improving the buzz and creating a scientific community.”
Adds Andrew Barlow, Managing Director of Granta Park: “We are delighted that MedImmune’s UK team at Granta Park has once again played a vital role in the development of an expected blockbuster drug. Over the last ten years MedImmune has grown ten-fold at Granta Park. This growth is made possible because the MEPC team works closely with MedImmune in order to understand the company’s changing business needs. Also, the MEPC is continually looking for ways to add value to the businesses at Granta Park and has done so through the development of a special science community. MedImmune’s involvement in MEPC’s scientific poster events, senior team lunches, networking dinners and social programme including the Granta Park Choir are a vital part of that special community.”
Managed and operated by MEPC, Granta Park is located south of Cambridge in the heart of the Cambridge Science Cluster. As well as MedImmune companies on the science park include Pfizer, PPD and TWI. The McClintock Building and Riverside Development offer flexible office and R & D units, allowing growing companies to work within a thriving science community, which includes a sports and social programme, cafe, restaurant, nursery, fitness suite, commuter bus and 24 hour security and free meeting facilities. Space is available from 800 sq ft (74 sq m) to 330,000 sq ft (31,000 sq m) ranging from flexible leases on fully fitted offices to development land ready for specialist buildings to be built. To find out more visit www.grantapark.co.uk.
Staff at Granta Park raised £347.65 for victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami during a lunch time walk round the science park’s 120 acres of grounds last month.
Participants donated £1 per mile in the event, which was organised by Kim Burgess, Facilities Manager at PPD. Says Kim: “It was a good day and really nice to see everyone out and about walking or running around the park for such a worthy cause. The Granta Park Social Committee wanted to do something to help the relief effort and we are delighted to have raised this amount.”
More than 8,000 people died, thousands were injured and at least 12,000 people are still missing following the earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck Japan on 11 March. According to the British Red Cross many people are living in evacuation centres as 14,000 homes have been destroyed and around 100,000 are damaged.
Granta Park’s ethos of creating a special science community has been put in to practice recently with a series of senior team lunches where people from the Estate and representatives of local the high-tech community have the opportunity to get together to network and seek opportunities for collaboration.
Explains Marketing and Asset Manager Roz Bird: “Hosting a senior team lunch is a real pleasure because the conversations that take place across the lunch table are so stimulating, the atmosphere is relaxed and informal, and It is really nice to be able to help business people to meet and get to know each other. Are guests come because it is good for their business relationships and for developing new business opportunities, and I think people really do start to feel part of the special science community which is what MEPC is proud to be creating here at Granta Park.”
Simon Allen, who recently joined Softwerx as Marketing Manager, attended the most recent lunch and made some useful contacts: “It was great to meet the neighbours and get first-hand information on what they are doing. Since the lunch I’ve arranged meetings with two of the other guests, one who is based at Granta Park and the other one who is thinking about moving to Granta Park. All in all, a particularly enjoyable and productive working lunch!”
The knife and fork buffet lunches are supplied by local caterer Gill Waller, who has many years’ experience providing finger or knife and fork buffet lunches for hi-tech companies in and around Cambridge. Adds Roz Bird: “Gill’s catering really adds to the special atmosphere of the lunch as it is to a very high standard and to be highly recommended.” Gill can be contacted on 01763 261693 howardandgillwaller@yahoo.co.uk
