Patrick McMahon, senior partner at Bidwells, said: “The Oxford-Cambridge Arc has been at the forefront of the UK’s economical and healthcare response to Covid-19 and AstraZeneca’s £15m deal with Oxford Biomedica is further proof of this. The Arc’s leading role during the pandemic has emphasised the value of a collaborative culture and having high tech manufacturing facilities cheek by jowl with laboratories, research institutes and teaching hospitals.
“Our own research has shown that the continuation of business activity in Oxford and Cambridge was reflected in the cities’ office and lab markets. In the first half of 2020, take-up reached 80 percent of the cities’ 10-year averages, driven by strong demand by life sciences firms who continue to research and develop testing, therapies and vaccines. This is in comparison to other major regional UK cities, where take-up reached just 64 percent of the past decade’s average.
“As the government looks to future-proof the UK and drive forward its levelling up agenda, the importance of science and technology to the national economic future is evident – as demonstrated in the Arc.”