DePuy Synthes’ Beeston facility expands to become world-leading centre for innovation in Orthopaedics
Historic site opens its doors following extensive redevelopment
DePuy Synthes Companies of Johnson & Johnson has recently celebrated the grand opening of its redeveloped St. Anthony’s Road, Beeston facility in Leeds. The Beeston R&D Centre is one of the leading orthopaedic development facilities in the world, designed to stimulate innovation, communication, and collaboration. The site will substantially increase R&D capabilities to advance medical device solutions that deliver value for healthcare systems and improve people’s lives.
To mark the occasion, Dr Mark Treherne, Chief Executive, UK Trade & Investment’s Life Sciences Organisation, unveiled a commemorative plaque during the grand opening ceremony.
“This facility will bridge research and development with commercialisation in the healthcare sector, reflecting the Government’s commitment to make the UK the location of choice for investment in the life sciences sector, as outlined in the Strategy for UK life sciences,” commented Dr Treherne. “This will help patients here and across the world benefit from new technologies. Thanks in part to Government backing, the DePuy Synthes newly redeveloped facility provides over 550 skilled jobs in Beeston, supporting growth in the local economy.”
During the ceremony, which was attended by the company’s academic, business and community partners, special guests from the Thackray family and Leeds City Council, and over 500 employees, company speakers highlighted the significance of the site’s medical history through the company’s connections with Sir John Charnley, an orthopaedic surgeon, later knighted for his work in the field of total hip replacement, who worked with the Chas F. Thackray Ltd (the company that later became DePuy Synthes) to manufacture the world’s first hip replacements at the St. Anthony’s Road site.
“This site is now one of the leading orthopaedic development facilities in the world, designed to stimulate innovation, communication, and collaboration,” said Martin Fitchet, Global Head, R&D, DePuy Synthes Companies of Johnson & Johnson. “The site will substantially increase R&D capabilities to foster innovation and advance medical device solutions that deliver value for healthcare systems and to meet the needs of our patients and customers globally.”
Through the years, orthopaedic products developed at the site have evolved from functional implants focused on reducing pain and regaining mobility for patients, to implants that combine the latest in design, kinematics, engineering and materials focused on advancing patient care while delivering clinical and economic value to healthcare systems.
“The Johnson & Johnson Credo outlines our responsibilities to the stakeholders we serve, including our patients, our employees and the communities around us,” said Juan-José Gonzales, President, DePuy Synthes EMEA. “This new campus, a major global facility for our orthopaedics business, will nurture talent in the area and provide a significant contribution to the local economy.”
Sustainable design was a key aspect of the campus redevelopment from the outset. To ensure that the company minimises its impact on the community and the environment, the Campus will be BREEAM certified, the world’s longest established and most widely used environmental assessment method for sustainable building design. Key features of the campus include energy-efficient lighting, rain water harvesting, sensor taps and low flow WCs, solar panels on the roof, fresh air pumped into the building, and state of the art air conditioning with energy fans and specialist glass to reduce glare and minimise heat build up. Another key goal of the campus design is to reduce landfill as far as possible by introducing dry mix recycling in all areas to reduce waste as well as consideration for other environmentally friendly options.
The DePuy Synthes Beeston site brings together many of the company’s local, regional and global business operations, including Marketing, Clinical Affairs, Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Purchasing and Supply Chain. The site will also accommodate the UK Sales and Marketing organisation, and support functions such as Finance, Human Resources and Information Technology.
This post was written by Clare using our Create an article for South Leeds Life page.
