Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a global biopharma company, has selected Harwell Campus in Didcot, Oxfordshire, as the location of a major research facility.
The proposed centre will cover 155,000 sq ft and focus on developing advanced medicines.
The decision was announced as the Health Tech Cluster marked its 10th anniversary at Harwell.
It also comes after Moderna established its manufacturing and research and development site on the Oxfordshire campus.
Professor Michele Dougherty is executive chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council.
She said Harwell brings government, academia and industry together to address major challenges.
The on-site Health Cluster, established by the council, has pursued that objective throughout the past decade.
Dougherty described Vertex’s planned facility as an investment capable of supporting transformative medicine development.
She said it would complement Harwell’s national laboratories, reinforce Oxfordshire’s standing in world-class life sciences, and contribute to the UK’s wider ambition to lead in scientific research and innovation.
Launched in 2016, the Health Tech Cluster has expanded to encompass more than 75 life sciences organisations alongside 1,400 people.
Jim Stretton, managing director of Harwell Campus, said Vertex’s arrival would add to the site’s community.
He said the new centre would provide greater support for the company’s research and development teams as they work to advance transformative therapies for patients.
Stretton added that the investment demonstrated the strength of Harwell’s health cluster and Oxfordshire’s research and innovation ecosystem.
A joint venture manages Harwell Campus.
Its partners are the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the UK Atomic Energy Authority and Brookfield, the private investor.