Hull welcomes opening of £23m R&D centre tackling global addiction crisis

Indivior, a global specialist in addiction treatment, has officially opened a new research and development centre in Hull following a £23m investment.

The opening of the centre represents Indivior’s largest capital investment in R&D.

The company’s ethos is to transform addiction from a human crisis to a recognised and treated chronic disease.

Indivior is aiming to provide patients around the world with access to treatment for the chronic relapsing conditions and co-occurring disorders of addiction, including alcohol use disorder and schizophrenia.

The company noted that addiction is a global crisis with 29 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 thought to have been suffering from drug use disorders or drug dependence in 20161 . In the UK, the number of people dependent on opioid painkillers is estimated to be as high as 1 million.

Shaun Thaxter, CEO of Indivior, said: “This new state-of-the-art centre is an investment in our mission to pioneer life-transforming treatments for patients struggling with addiction.

“Indivior’s focus on the needs of patients can be traced back decades, to the days before buprenorphine was discovered - right here in Hull - and developed as a treatment for opioid addiction. Our hope is this centre will help us further our leadership in the development of novel treatment approaches that deliver on the unmet needs of patients suffering from addiction.”

The new centre, which will house over 50 employees, is equipped with scientific technologies including a 400MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer, and is constructed to environmental and energy-saving standards, including the installation of a 25KW solar panel farm to increase use of renewable energy.

Christian Heidbreder, chief scientific officer of Indivior, commented: “Our Hull centre will enable Indivior to deliver on the promise of science and research as critical factors in the understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction and the discovery and development of treatment options to help transform the lives of patients suffering from addiction and to advance the addiction treatment paradigm.”

Attending the opening ceremony in Hull, Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry said: “The Northern Powerhouse is about economic growth and creating jobs. It’s great that this pioneering work is taking place in Hull and has the potential to deliver life-changing treatments.

This £23m investment in a state-of-the-art facility reaffirms the North East as a hub for innovation at the heart of the Northern Powerhouse.“

The new R&D building will be named the Chapleo Building after Dr. Chris Chapleo, who was one of the founding fathers of Indivior and spearheaded the development of buprenorphine-based treatment.

Dr. Chapleo is currently a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and former Chairman of the Society for Drug Research.