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.Aldershot News Friday 24 June 1983, page 14 The site was built by McAlpine.Aldershot News Friday 16 December 1966, page 12 The site was to open by August 1967, being 47 acres
From 1967 the catering was provided by the Bateman Catering Organisation Aldershot News Friday 8 September 1967, page 16
History The former research site of Lilly was at Bromborough.Surrey Advertiser Saturday 12 November 1966, page 15
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. A year later, in October 2020, UCB announced they had acquired the site from Lilly and would complete a refurbishment of the site.
Visits It was featured in a two-part Panorama documentary on 10 and 17 January 1983, presented by Tom Mangold.Panorama 10 January 1983Panorama 17 January 1983 Prince Andrew, Duke of York visited the site on 11 June 2003.Times, 12 June 2003, page 35
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.Aldershot News Friday 8 September 1967, page 16
Research The site had laboratory animals. A new £1.3m centre for Elanco Products opened in November 1978, with 12,500 sq ft.Aldershot News Tuesday 14 November 1978, page 2 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 It had to be rapidly withdrawn on 4 August 1982, as there were numerous side-effects, with maybe up to 61 deaths in the UK.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.Aberdeen Evening Express Tuesday 14 October 1980, page 3Aldershot News Tuesday 25 January 1983, page 3Aldershot News Friday 31 December 1982, page 2
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 British Neuroscience Association Napp Research Centre in South Cambridgeshire
References
External links Lilly Research Centre UK Biotech Database