On Thursday 20 November, the IPT was delighted to welcome Sadik Al‑Hassan MP and Lord Mair on an industry visit to AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre (DISC). Situated at the heart of Cambridge’s Biomedical Campus, the DISC is a world‑leading R&D hub where more than 2,000 scientists are driving innovation in drug discovery and development.

The visit began with a guided tour of the facility, led by the VP Biologics Engineering, Director of Government, Director of Global Partnerships and Stakeholder Relations. They showcased the building’s design, highlighted its state-of-the-art laboratories, and shared plans for future expansion.

Our delegation then explored the High Throughput Screening (HTS) Lab, where advanced robotics enable the rapid testing of hundreds of thousands of chemical compounds against disease targets. By automating precision experiments at scale, the HTS Lab accelerates the identification of promising molecules that can be developed into new medicines.

The visit concluded with a roundtable discussion chaired by the UK Chair of AstraZeneca. They provided an overview of AstraZeneca’s history, its global network of sites, and how they collaborate to advance scientific breakthroughs. He also shared insights into the company’s vision for the future.

Then on 4 December, we were delighted to take Richard Holden MP, Jerome Mayhew MP, Luke Taylor MP, and Darren Paffey MP to Virgin Atlantic’s Engineering Hub at Heathrow Airport. This visit focussed on sustainable aviation, the importance skills and apprenticeships play within engineering, and what challenges the sector is facing.

The visit began with a brief presentation from senior staff including the Chief Operating Officer, Director of Government Affairs and a Senior Engineer. Through this they discussed the history and achievements of Virgin Atlantic, how the business has changed over the years. They talked about the importance of engineering and the role it plays, as well as the challenges being faced in relation to age of the workforce and the need for more apprenticeships. Finally, they discussed some of the key policy topics, such as Heathrow expansion and airspace modernisation.

A tour of the engineering shop floor, which at the time was housing one of their aircrafts, showed to attendees some of the repairs that are required. Attendees, were able to go inside the aircraft, including the cockpit, to see the work being done modernise and improve the passenger experience. They also got to walk around the aircraft and see the external repairs being done, with this aircraft, it related to the wing systems.

We would like to thank both AstraZeneca and Virgin Atlantic for hosting these visits and to all the parliamentarians who attended. 2025 has been a successful year with our Industry Visit Programme and we hope to continue this into 2026.