Lilly Research Centre

Lilly Research Centre
Erl Wood Manor[1]
Lilly Research Centre is located in Surrey
Lilly Research Centre
Location within Surrey
Alternative namesErl Wood, Eli Lilly Research & Development, Eli Lilly Campus
General information
TypeMedical Research Centre
AddressSurrey, England, GU20 6PH
Coordinates51°22′35″N 0°40′39″W / 51.3764°N 0.6776°W / 51.3764; -0.6776
Elevation70 m (230 ft)
Current tenants600 employees
CompletedAugust 1967[2]
Inaugurated1967
Cost£1.5m
ClientLilly Industries
OwnerEli Lilly Corporation
Dimensions
Other dimensions47 acres
Technical details
Floor count2
Floor area23,154 sq ft
Design and construction
Main contractorMcAlpine

The Lilly Research Centre is a medical research centre in Surrey. It is the European headquarters of Eli Lilly and Company.

Construction

Lilly received permission for the site in 1959.[3] The site was built by McAlpine.[4] The site was to open by August 1967, being 47 acres

From 1967 the catering was provided by the Bateman Catering Organisation [5]

History

The former research site of Lilly was at Bromborough.[6]

In 1968, when the centre opened, Eli Lilly was spending £20m on research in the UK. The average research cost of a new molecular entity is currently over £1bn. In 2003, a £40m investment transformed the site into a Centre of Excellence in Neuroscience Research.

Director of Research at the centre was Bill Dawson, a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.

In October 2019, Eli Lilly announced the closure of their Erl Wood research centre by the end of 2020 with some staff moving to other Eli Lilly locations in the local area and neuroscience research moving to the USA.[7] A year later, in October 2020, UCB announced they had acquired the site from Lilly and would complete a refurbishment of the site.[8]

Visits

Directors

  • David Dennen
  • John Wold 1983-
  • Paul Johnson 2002-2007
  • Karin Briner 2007-10

Operation

From 1967 the catering was provided by the Bateman Catering Organisation.[12]

Research

The site had laboratory animals. A new £1.3m centre for Elanco Products opened in November 1978, with 12,500 sq ft.[13] The site also researched plant science, where chemists developed pesticide formulation.

The pain killer benoxaprofen (known as Opren) was developed at the site in 1971, and launched on Tuesday 14 October 1980, and had been in hospitals since May 1980. It had to be rapidly withdrawn on 4 August 1982, as there were numerous side-effects, with maybe up to 61 deaths in the UK. It was banned by the government on 6 September 1982.[14][15][16]

Structure

It is accessed via the A30 and B3020, and the A322 via junction 3 of the M3. The site has a 200-seat restaurant. The EMC building opened in 2000. The site is set in woodland.

See also

References

  1. ^ New Scientist March 1986
  2. ^ "Lilly Research Centre - Erl Wood" (PDF) (Press release). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2018.
  3. ^ Aldershot News Friday 24 June 1983, page 14
  4. ^ Aldershot News Friday 16 December 1966, page 12
  5. ^ Aldershot News Friday 8 September 1967, page 16
  6. ^ Surrey Advertiser Saturday 12 November 1966, page 15
  7. ^ Evans, Ryan (15 October 2019). "Eli Lilly announces job cuts and closure of UK research centre". Basingstoke Gazette. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  8. ^ May, Brandon (16 October 2020). "UCB Snags Eli Lilly U.K. Research Site, Plans to Invest £1 Billion Over Five Years for R&D". BioSpace. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  9. ^ Panorama 10 January 1983
  10. ^ Panorama 17 January 1983
  11. ^ Times, 12 June 2003, page 35
  12. ^ Aldershot News Friday 8 September 1967, page 16
  13. ^ Aldershot News Tuesday 14 November 1978, page 2
  14. ^ Aberdeen Evening Express Tuesday 14 October 1980, page 3
  15. ^ Aldershot News Tuesday 25 January 1983, page 3
  16. ^ Aldershot News Friday 31 December 1982, page 2


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