Cancer Research UK to move to Alderley Park

Alderley Park is set to become the official home of the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute.

The organisation has revealed plans to take around 81,000 sq ft of laboratory and office space at the development, which will now house more than 300 CRUK scientists.

The Institute’s new home, within the Mereside campus at Alderley Park, will serve as a temporary replacement for its former premises on the site of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, which were damaged in a fire back in April.

The deal was facilitated by Manchester Science Partnerships (MSP), operator of Alderley Park, and the site’s majority shareholder Bruntwood.

CRUK Manchester Institute was also backed in the move by pharma giant AstraZeneca, which has lab facilities at the park that it has made available to CRUK.

Alderley Park managing director Dr Chris Doherty said: “We recognise the incredibly important research conducted by the CRUK Manchester Institute and our team has prioritised helping them through this challenging period.

“We are justly proud of the collaboration and patient-first thinking that exists within our region. If you want to be near The Christie, and the academic and healthcare community within Greater Manchester our location is ideal.”

He continued: “Alderley Park itself has long been a world-class R&D facility and is at the business end of the government’s industrial strategy for life science. It’s not just about bricks and mortar – what we have here is a community of like-minded innovators and scientists.

“We are delighted to have been able to find a solution that enables this life-saving research to continue.”

Prof. Richard Marais, director at CRUK Manchester Institute, commented: “We are grateful to everyone at Alderley Park for making us feel welcome and for helping expedite our move.

“While being able to return to our original site at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust remains our priority, we are delighted to be able to continue our vital research in the world-class facilities at Alderley Park and look forward to the development of new relationships and collaborations that this move will bring.”

CRUK Manchester Institute is a cancer research organisation within The University of Manchester and is funded by national charity Cancer Research UK.

Main image: Chris Doherty (left) with Richard Marais