Philips moving UK research labs to Cambridge
25 March 2008
Royal Philips Electronics is moving its UK research arm, Philips Research UK, to the Cambridge Science Park in autumn 2008.
Philips Research has been based in Redhill, Surrey for over 60 years, but is moving to Cambridge to take advantage of its concentration of technology centres. The Cambridge laboratory will support Philips' new sector organisation of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting.
Business Weekly reported that Philips had taken a 10-year lease on the new Building 101 in Cambridge Science Park at a record rent for the area of £25 per square foot. The building is due to be completed in June.
Philips’ global portfolio of research centres employ about 1,800 at seven sites including the Netherlands, China, India and the US.
Terry Doyle, senior vice president of Philips Research said, "2008 marks an exciting year for Philips Research UK. We pride ourselves in being at the forefront of innovation and research. Ensuring we maintain this position drives our need to provide our talented scientists and technology experts with the best possible environment. We believe Cambridge offers this — an ecosystem where our work can really flourish."
As well as anticipating venturing technology businesses and building new partnerships with the many publicly and privately funded innovation activities in Cambridge, Philips Research will nurture existing partnerships with universities whilst strengthening its links with Cambridge University.
Philips Research current projects include developing easy-to-use, rapid diagnostic tests. The devices will be suitable for use at ‘points of care’ such as local medical practices, and could mean that the waiting time between diagnosis and treatment is cut from days to minutes.
The tests involve the identification of specific biomarkers of disease in patient samples such as blood, urine or saliva. These new detection systems are based on electronics and microfluidics on glass and promise to be more compact and much faster than traditional diagnostic techniques.
Other project work includes developing ultra low power radio solutions which, for example, could enable ‘body area networks’ in a number of healthcare applications. Deploying these novel short range wireless systems will revolutionize the future care environment in hospitals and homes. Existing areas of highly regarded contribution will continue to be promoted.
The Cambridge Laboratory will remain active in the standardization of wireless communications and will explore licensing and alternative collaborations that build on its electronics systems expertise, as well as building on its proprietary “EPLaR” flexible electronics technology.
