AstraZeneca plans for growth in Qld natural products centre

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca plans to augment the Queensland-based natural product research centre in which it has invested $55 million since 1993.

The Centre for Natural Products Research, operated in collaboration with Griffith University, represents AstraZeneca's main worldwide effort in this area.

The expansion will consist of adding new features to the current program, according to its director, Prof Ron Quinn.

"It will build on the science we have already undertaken but will focus on some new approaches," Quinn said. "We don't want to go into specifics because some of those are areas in which we feel we've gained a bit of an advantage."

The centre screens extracts of plants and marine organisms collected from Queensland's rainforest and reef environments for leads which can be developed into manufactured therapeutic agents.

AstraZeneca maintains a very low profile about the centre but the fact it intends to expand the facility suggests it is enjoying some success.

The centre employs 45 staff supported directly by AstraZeneca, plus a number of PhD students from Griffith.

It interacts with AstraZeneca's Sydney manufacturing facility at the discovery research level.

The centre is working on a legacy collection of natural products gathered from Queensland's ecosystem under an agreement with the State government which produces a return to the taxpayer from commercial results.

According to a statement by Queensland Premier Peter Beattie, a formal announcement of the expansion plan can be expected in about a month.