The company, which provides proton beam therapy alongside other conventional cancer therapies, is investing £30 million to build its own purpose-built centre. This will be the third new centre under construction in the UK and will help to meet growing demand for proton beam therapy, a specialised type of cancer treatment that is not yet available in the UK.
It is expected that each centre will be able to treat up to 500 patients a year and will accept NHS patients, medically-insured private patients and self-funded patients. Building is expected to start in January 2017, with completion anticipated in Q4 2018.
Dr David Gillham, Director of Thames Valley Science Park, said: “Proton Partners International is an innovative company, using cutting-edge technology to deliver the most up to date treatments for cancer patients.
“It is exactly the type of company we want for the Thames Valley Science Park, where our aim is to bring together a community of ambitious, knowledge-based companies that share the same values in delivering innovation. Now that we have the first company signed up, we look forward to welcoming many more.”
Mike Moran, Chief Executive Officer of Proton Partners, said: “We are delighted that our new centre will be built at the heart of one of the most exciting health and life sciences projects in Europe.
“Located just off the M4 corridor and with connections to Heathrow, this centre will make proton beam therapy available to patients from the South of England as well as international patients.
“We’re bringing the top cancer technology to Reading – which is true of all of our treatment centres – and this investment will not only enhance the level of cancer treatment available, but will also bring skilled jobs to the area.”
The University works with a variety of healthcare partners, including Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust and Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust as part of the Thames Valley Clinical Trials Unit. It is used for a range of trials, including developing new medicines as well as bringing together existing work in dementia care and mental health.
The completed Thames Valley Science Park will eventually deliver approximately 800,000 sq ft of space in a range of flexible buildings to create a new community of 80 innovation and technology led companies, with the potential to provide up to 5,000 new jobs.
The delivery of the first 70,000 sq ft ‘Gateway’ building at Thames Valley Science Park is due to be completed in August 2017 and will provide specialist space for innovation led and technology based companies. The initial investment in the flagship project is £35 million, which includes investment of more than £30 million from the University of Reading and £5 million from the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund.
Haslams and Savills are joint agents on Thames Valley Science Park.
For more on the Thames Valley Science Park, visit www.tvsp.co.uk.
For more on Proton Partners International, visit www.proton-int.com.
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Neil Seager
BSc (Hons) MRICS