Eli Lilly puts London comeback on hold
US-based pharma giant Eli Lilly has put its potential return to London on hold amid pricing and regulatory pressures in the capital, and could turn its sights to somewhere else in Europe.
Speaking on a webinar today hosted by Hogan Lovells, Eli Lilly associate vice president and head of global strategic real estate and facilities planning Stephen Lloyd Van Soelen warned the UK could “squash innovation” unless its regulatory landscape changes.
“There are other places within Europe to go,” said Lloyd Van Soelen. “The UK has a very difficult environment, and it makes companies like ours really question investing in the innovation there.”
US-based pharma giant Eli Lilly has put its potential return to London on hold amid pricing and regulatory pressures in the capital, and could turn its sights to somewhere else in Europe.
Speaking on a webinar today hosted by Hogan Lovells, Eli Lilly associate vice president and head of global strategic real estate and facilities planning Stephen Lloyd Van Soelen warned the UK could “squash innovation” unless its regulatory landscape changes.
“There are other places within Europe to go,” said Lloyd Van Soelen. “The UK has a very difficult environment, and it makes companies like ours really question investing in the innovation there.”
Last year, Eli Lilly appointed CBRE to help it find a circa 65,000 sq ft hub in the capital for an incubator concept called Gateway Labs, as revealed by EG.
The concept would have seen Eli Lilly bring early-stage companies into an accelerator environment and putting a framework around them with the aim to grow their science and take their product to market.
In March, the firm shortlisted three preferred locations across central London, also revealed by EG, with London’s Knowledge Quarter being among the top picks. The list included Regent Quarter, Tribeca and Victoria House.
Lloyd Van Soelen said: “When you actually bring a product to market, you’re not getting rewarded for your innovation.
“As the old saying goes, unless something changes, nothing will. The environment has to change.”
He added: “Our business development colleagues were working with VCs [in the UK], identifying companies, and it would have been a great project. Hopefully we can pick it up again.”
Lilly UK, which is Eli Lilly’s UK business, has headquarters in Basingstoke, Hampshire (pictured), and has a research centre in Bracknell, Berkshire.
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Image © TP Bennett
