Roche has opened its new Pharma Research and Early Development Center (pRED) at its global headquarters in Basel. The center has 1,800 laboratory and office workplaces, bringing together researchers from different disciplines, explains Roche in a statement. The center’s inauguration was attended by Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research.

“The new pRED Center will play an integral role in collaborating with our research centers across the globe, aiming to boost the effectiveness and efficiency of our R&D, and to deliver the greatest impact for patients,” Thomas Schinecker, CEO of the Roche Group, is quoted as saying.

Further investments in the billions to follow

According to Hans Clevers, Head of pRED, the new center will “enable greater interaction and knowledge sharing across disciplines, for example, chemists, biologists and data scientists”.

Roche has invested 1.2 billion Swiss francs in the four new buildings: two new high-rise laboratory buildings, an office building and a convention center. Since 2009, the funds spent on expanding the Basel site total 4.6 billion Swiss francs. The company is currently investing a further 1.2 billion Swiss francs in Basel, according to the statement.