£73 million biomedical centre opened
Hammersmith-based research facility opened by Chancellor
A new research facility built with the aim of channelling scientific discoveries into the prevention and treatment of diseases was opened on Monday 28 May on Hammersmith Campus.
The £73m six-floor, biomedical research focused Imperial Centre for Translational and Experimental Medicine (ICTEM) has enough lab space to host up to 450 scientists.
The ground floor is taken up by the Wellcome Trust-McMichael Clinical Research Facility. Teams from the Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre will be located on the second floor.
The upper levels will house one of the largest cardiovascular research facilities in Europe, including the headquarters of the British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence at Imperial.
The property also houses the Imperial Cancer Research UK Centre.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne officially opened the facility, and said: “It is what this country’s vision for the future of life sciences is all about. This new Centre rises to the challenge of ensuring we remain a world leader in life sciences. The future is academic research, clinical practice and industrial application coming together.”
Osborne also took the opportunity to discuss the the value of universities:
“I understand that changes in student finance have prompted a lively debate about the role of the university. A university is not simply a business.
“We understand the importance of free intellectual enquiry which is worthwhile in itself. It is what I valued about my time at University – as I suspect did you too.”
Osborne additionally declared intellectual property advisors Imperial Innovations as a “national leader” in universities helping to commercially develop ideas, discoveries or inventions, claiming that “it is a model from which others can learn.”
ICTEM has been funded by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, the British Heart Foundation, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.
