10th May 2012, The effects of a shake-up in the pharmaceutical sector highlighted, locally, at the beginning of the year are now to rippling through the commercial property scene in a positive way according to Will Mooney, joint head of Carter Jonas agency and professional services in the eastern region.

In February this year (2012), Will Mooney pointed out that the impending expiry of patents on mass market medicines and a shift towards person-centric, individual treatments would see a move away from large-scale R&D facilities, with attendant on-site factory requirements, by companies in the pharmaceutical sector.

He also pointed out that this sector’s shake up would see Cambridge score well as the leading pharmaceutical companies would look to adopt a property strategy which could take advantage of established academic and scientific R&D property hubs.

Then in March (2012), Pfizer, at an event at Granta Park which was anchored around its pioneering entrepreneurial research unit Neusentis – which has a remit for regenerative medicine and was launched only last year (2011) – pointed to a collaborative approach and, particularly, with those hubs in Cambridge as the way forward for its R&D models.

According to Will Mooney, it’s a pattern which is rolling out across the pharma and wider scientific sectors and on which the owners of local established Park locations and their agents are geared up to capitalise.

He says: “As we approach mid-year, agents will be emphasising the remaining pre-let opportunities in and around Cambridge.

“Although the new pharma model is moving towards more flexible, less formal corporate HQ-style buildings, companies in the sector with international reputations for quality are still looking for something smart in a location which complements their business and their brand. 

“Supply is short and so a programme of comprehensive refurbishment might well be needed to address this issue in the short-term.”