“The ability to expand, both in terms of people and facilities, is what has kept the company on the Kent Science Park site – growing at this rate elsewhere would have meant looking at relocation, so it’s a major benefit of being located here.”
MANUEL LOUREDA, GW PHARMACEUTICALS
GW Pharmaceuticals is a pioneering UK-based biopharmaceutical company that has established a world-leading position in cannabinoid science and medicines over the last 21 years. The company’s mission is to transform the lives of seriously ill patients with significant unmet needs through developing and delivering rigorously tested cannabis-derived pharmaceutical medicines with documented safety and efficacy profiles, approved by regulators and manufactured to the highest standards.
GW’s research efforts initially focused on responding to the needs of patients with multiple sclerosis, while in recent years the company has been determined to help children with severe, life threatening forms of epilepsy. Looking to the future, GW’s deep scientific knowledge and extensive body of research is enabling the company to explore new therapeutic areas including neurology, oncology, psychiatry and autism spectrum disorders. In October 2018 this work was recognised by TIME magazine, which named GW as one of the ‘Top 50 Genius Companies of 2018 That Are Inventing the Future’.
The Kent Science Park has been home to GW Pharmaceuticals since it was founded in 1998. Site Director Manuel Loureda talks about the growth and success that the company has achieved at the park: “GW Pharmaceuticals has grown tremendously since it was established; there are now over 850 people in the company and 350 employees at the Kent Science Park. The ability to expand, both in terms of people and facilities, is what has kept the company on the Kent Science Park site – growing at this rate elsewhere would have meant looking at relocation, so it’s a major benefit of being located here. In the pharmaceutical industry, the research and development side of things are normally on a different site to the product manufacturing facility, but being located on a single site is far more convenient for GW. Here at Kent Science Park, we do everything from developing and testing the products in laboratories through to bulk manufacturing, packaging and distribution of the end product. The Kent Science Park location has enabled us to grow while keeping the facilities as close to each other as possible, which maintains that campus type feel – we’re one company here on site.”
“Despite the fast growth of the company, recruitment has not been a problem for GW Pharmaceuticals – being located in Kent means that the science park is relatively close to London for commuters, and we’ve found people are willing to relocate to the area too. Another benefit of being located within the same park as over 60 other diverse companies is that there is also the opportunity for interaction and cooperation between the companies themselves, and this has led to us working directly with a number of companies on the park,” Manuel concluded.
To learn more about GW Pharma, visit https://www.gwpharm.com
12/12/19
