THE NOVARTIS FOUNDATION
November 18th, 2008The BioUpdate Foundation has been using the Novartis Foundation for many of its courses for a number of years and has always found it very satisfactory from the point of view of its ideal location in Portland Place in central London, with its facilities for the conduct of the courses, accommodation and cuisine.
We thought that we should inform you that, sadly, we will not be able to use the Novartis for a while as a result of various changes.
The Novartis website carries the following statement:
“Towards the end of 2006, the Trustees of the Novartis Foundation were informed that the support for the Foundation would cease at the end of February 2008. The Trustees considered various options for the future and, after much deliberation, favoured a merger with the Academy of Medical Sciences.
The Academy and the Novartis Foundation merged on 31 July 2008, prior to the dissolution of the Foundation later this year. As a result of this merger the Academy has taken over 41 Portland Place and will be overseeing the current hospitality business until 31 December 2008.
The Academy plans to continue the legacy of the Novartis Foundation by establishing its headquarters at Portland Place and providing a centre of excellence for the research community for biomedical science and healthcare.
A major refurbishment will take place during 2009 and the premises are due to reopen in 2010”.
The BioUpdate Foundation hopes that it may then be possible to use the Portland Place building and facilities for its courses, once again.
Currently, BioUpdate Courses, which still include accommodation, take place at the Regardz Berghotel at Amersfoort in the Netherlands. Amersfoort itself is a short train journey from Schiphol airport.