As part of the UK Government’s announcement of a new five pillar plan to boost testing for COVID-19, AstraZeneca, GSK and the University of Cambridge have formed a joint collaboration to take action to support this national effort.

A new testing laboratory will be set up at the University’s Anne McLaren Building which will be used for high throughput screening for COVID-19 testing and to explore the use of alternative chemical reagents for test kits in order to help overcome current supply shortages.

Infrastructure works have already begun to supplement the initiative, with another of our local business operators playing a pivotal role in facilitating the projects commencement.

Construction specialists, the Mick George Group have generously offered to install critical access routes to the facility free-of-charge, in the form of a 110m length temporary pavement that will run from the site entrance of the Anne McLaren main drive, to Francis Crick Avenue.

Initially estimated to fulfil 1,000 to 2,000 test per day, it is anticipated that the new coronavirus testing laboratory will process up to 30,000 per day at the peak of operations, contributing to the national target of 100,000 tests per day, as pledged by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Alongside this new testing facility, AstraZeneca and GSK are working together to provide process optimisation support to the UK national testing centres in Milton Keynes, Alderley Park and Glasgow for COVID-19, providing expertise in automation and robotics to help the national testing system to continue to expand capacity over the coming weeks.

Michael George, Managing Director at the Mick George Group commented:

‘’We continue to pay tribute to those working on the frontlines of this pandemic, in the UK and globally. Defeating COVID-19 requires a collective effort from everyone, across multiple sectors and we are committed to playing our part.’’