Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) is expanding its operations in Cambridge, UK, by leasing the building currently known as Unit GP15 on Granta Park, the science park near Cambridge, which is already home to two of the company's facilities.

Unit GP15, which was previously occupied by Millennium Pharmaceuticals who vacated the building in 2003, will provide CAT with an additional 92,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratory and associated open-plan office space. The company plans to carry out significant alterations to the internal layout of the building before it moves in, sometime in the next 12 to 15 months, a company release stated.

Hamish Cameron, CAT's chief executive, said, "This investment in CAT's future is essential for us to achieve our planned expansion as part of the AstraZeneca group of companies. CAT is on a journey to create an outstanding biopharmaceutical company and is central to AstraZeneca's plans to establish a major international presence in the research and development of biological therapeutics. Starting next year, CAT will be recruiting a significant number of new staff, across all functions and at all levels, to join our team and this additional space is being prepared to accommodate this growth. Unit GP15 is ideal for us, and when fully occupied will house between 250-300 people. It is a high quality building and, being so close to our existing facilities on Granta Park, it will allow many of our staff to continue to work easily and closely together, an important feature of CAT's working culture, and one which we will strive to maintain as we grow."