The building has been named Parklands, acknowledging the beauty of its natural park and woodland setting, and the opening was marked by the unveiling of a wooden sculpture.

The completion of Parklands forms part of the first phase of a major development programme for Alderley Park - the scale of which underlines the site's strategic position in the AstraZeneca global business. Alderley Park Site General Manager Will Spinks said: "In the last two and a half years, AstraZeneca has invested over £200million here to support research and development of treatments for cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation and infection. These investments ensure that scientists joining us today can look forward to a long future of scientific discovery at Alderley Park, working in world-class facilities."

John Patterson commented: "Alderley Park is the largest Research and Development facility in AstraZeneca, where a number of significant scientific breakthroughs were discovered. Many important medical treatments, which improved and prolonged patients’ lives across the world, were developed here. As with other new laboratory and office facilities at Alderley Park, Parklands' design enhances interaction between disciplines, providing flexible open spaces and meeting areas to stimulate discussion and knowledge sharing".

The quality of the design and functionality of the offices, achieved through a combination of Swedish and British architectural expertise, skilled workmanship and quality of materials, has been recognised by the recent presentation to the development team of the British Council for Offices' 2003 award for Corporate Workspace in the North of England, North Wales and Northern Ireland region.

AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the top five pharmaceutical companies in the world with healthcare sales of over $17.8 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, oncology, cardiovascular, neuroscience and respiratory products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global and European) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.  For more information, please visit www.astrazeneca.com

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