AstraZeneca launches its global hub in Barcelona
The multinational pharmaceutical company plans to invest 1.3 billion euros in its new center by 2027.
BarcelonaAstraZeneca has launched its own hub globalin Barcelona, in the Estel building, formerly occupied by Telefónica. The company's president in Spain, Rick R. Suárez, took advantage of the inauguration ceremony to ask the Spanish government for "agility, stability, and a long-term vision" to guarantee the competitiveness of the pharmaceutical and scientific sectors. He made these remarks during the opening of this headquarters at an event also attended by President Salvador Illa; the Minister of Health, Mónica García; and the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, among other high-ranking officials.
Suárez explained that it is necessary to have "predictable regulations, agile processes, and access models that recognize the value of new treatments," and reiterated that it is essential to reduce the time between drug launches and their availability to patients. The executive explained that the hub It is "a long-term investment" that demonstrates confidence in Spain's potential, as well as a commitment to its scientific and economic development. The executive also celebrated the collaboration with government agencies. In his opinion, this new headquarters will allow Spanish researchers working abroad to return. Furthermore, he emphasized that the company's goal is to bring 20 new drugs to market before the end of the decade.
He hub AstraZeneca's global operations aim to be "a model of innovation" that combines biomedical research with data science, technology, and commercial operations, according to the company. The goal is to accelerate treatments in high-impact areas such as oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, respiratory and immunology, rare diseases, and vaccines and immunotherapy. The company plans to invest €1.3 billion in Catalonia by 2027. The building houses approximately 1,600 company employees. AstraZeneca occupies around 30,000 square meters of the Estrella Building, which has a total area of 50,000 square meters of offices, retail space, and integrated services. Among the occupants of the street-level premises are the restaurant chains Honest Greens and Casa Carmen, which plan to open this fall, as well as the Planet Fitness gym, which will install approximately 1,700 square meters of sports facilities, possibly including a retail space. The building, owned by Bain Capital and Freo Group, has had to be practically rebuilt, as for many years it was just a shell. It now has 13 floors of offices. The redesign, led by architect Albert Blanch of the BCA Arquitectura studio, takes advantage of the original 1970s structure, which was previously occupied by one of Telefónica's headquarters in Barcelona.