LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 4, 2025--
This week, Haleon, a global leader in consumer health and maker of leading brands such as Sensodyne, parodontax and Polident, broke ground on its new Global Oral Health Innovation Centre in Weybridge, Surrey. This state-of-the-art facility will enhance Haleon’s science capabilities, accelerate innovation, and serve as a centre of excellence for global oral health research.
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The groundbreaking ceremony, attended by UK Minister Baroness Jones, marks an important step in Haleon’s ambition to reach one billion more consumers by 2030, by strengthening its oral health R&D capabilities to put health in more hands globally. Set to become the R&D epicentre for Haleon’s oral health portfolio, the centre will be a dynamic hub for pioneering research, product innovation, commercial and supply chain excellence, and cross-functional collaboration.
Equipped with the latest technology and global expertise, the centre will feature a cutting-edge digital immersive room designed to unlock value at pace through real-time collaboration with Haleon’s manufacturing site in Levice.
At the heart of the building, the atrium will create a vibrant hub for teamwork and co-creation, bringing leading expertise together to develop solutions that address unmet oral health needs for consumers around the world.
Designed with sustainability at its core, the site has recently achieved a BREEAM® Outstanding rating, recognising its exceptional commitment to sustainability at Phase 1 in the design stage.
Franck Riot, Chief R&D Officer, Haleon, said: " We are excited to break ground on our Global Oral Health Innovation Centre - a major investment reflecting our commitment to advancing science and innovation. This powerhouse for oral health research will strengthen Haleon’s R&D capabilities and accelerate the development of cutting-edge solutions to meet the evolving oral health needs of consumers around the world. ”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP, said:“This exciting milestone is another demonstration of the strength of the UK life sciences sector, a key pillar to our Industrial Strategy. Under this government Britain is open for business, and through our Plan for Change we’re delivering more investment, more jobs and more money in people’s pockets.”
UK Minister for Technology, Baroness Jones, said:“Haleon is breaking ground on a new centre that will place the UK at the forefront of innovation to improve everyone’s oral health - which we know is important to our wider health, and to children’s development. This centre, and the substantial investment behind it, is proof that the UK’s world-leading life sciences sector is the place to be to grow businesses and work on fresh ideas to transform healthcare. Leveraging these strengths will lead to the long-term economic growth that will help us deliver on our Plan for Change.”
Jayant Singh, Global Category Lead, Oral Health, Haleon, said: " With oral diseases affecting nearly half the world’s population, this marks an exciting step forward in our mission to put health in more hands for millions across the world. This centre will play a key role in harnessing the full potential of science and innovation across our oral health portfolio. ”
About Haleon
Haleon (LSE/NYSE: HLN) is a global leader in consumer health, with a purpose to deliver better everyday health with humanity. Haleon's product portfolio spans six major categories - Oral Health, Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements (VMS), Pain Relief, Respiratory Health, Digestive Health and Therapeutic Skin Health and Other. Its long-standing brands - such as Advil, Centrum, Otrivin, Panadol, parodontax, Polident, Sensodyne, Theraflu and Voltaren - are built on trusted science, innovation and deep human understanding.
Representatives from Haleon, Kier and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology participating in the ceremony to mark the ground break.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
