Investment Boosts Transformation of UK’s Leading Cancer Centres

A major Research and Industry project in London has secured £8.4 million funding from the city’s Strategic Investment Pot to help drive forward a world-leading campus focused on overcoming cancer.

The London Cancer Hub initiative is jointly led by the Institute of Cancer Research and the London Borough of Sutton – which has invested more than £30 million on 4.8 hectares of land on the site, to accommodate up to 100,000 square metres of new commercial and life-science facilities.

Already home to the ICR and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust – together ranked as one of the world’s top four centres for cancer research and treatment, the London Cancer Hub project will create an estimated 13,000 jobs – around 7,000 in life sciences and supporting activities and 6,200 in the site’s construction, building on the ecosystem of research, treatment, training and enterprise in Sutton that will also positively impact ICR’s drug discovery and development programme.

The new investment will be used to put in place the infrastructure requirements for initial buildings including a flagship Knowledge Centre, hosting labs, offices, business engagement activities and collaboration and events space.

The Knowledge Centre, with 8,360 square metres of commercial space, will form one of the first new developments on The London Cancer Hub site, along with the ICR’s £75m Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery – which is currently under construction – The Royal Marsden’s planned £70m Oak Cancer Centre and the completed Maggie’s Cancer Centre and Harris Federation secondary school.

Councillor Ruth Dombey, Leader of Sutton Council, said: “We are delighted to secure this funding which will help support our ambitious plans for making Sutton home to one of the world’s leading cancer research and treatment hubs.

“The Knowledge Centre will make an important contribution to supporting effective collaboration between research, treatment and technology at The London Cancer Hub. Additionally, it will help to create thousands of new jobs in our borough.”

Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of the ICR, said: “We're extremely pleased to receive this important boost to our plans for The London Cancer Hub. The new funding will catalyse development and underpin the creation of a flagship Knowledge Centre that will further enhance our already excellent collaborations with industry partners. This new investment represents a big step forward for our plans to create the world’s leading cancer-focused life-science district, and will help to accelerate our research discoveries and their development for patients.”