£12 million boost for Edinburgh BioQuarter
Edinburgh BioQuarter, which will position Scotland as one of the world’s top ten hubs for life sciences research and development, is set to benefit from a £12 million injection of funds to drive its innovative commercialisation strategy.
The commercialisation strategy will help increase commercial activity at the University’s College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine and translate its world-leading research into new therapies for patients.
The scheme will help support the creation of companies spun out of the university’s world class research to locate to the new Edinburgh BioQuarter campus based next to the new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh’s Medical School and Queen’s Medical Research Institute.
The University of Edinburgh has one of the UK’s most renowned medical schools which was rated top in the UK in the Government’s 2008 Research Assessment Exercise under the hospital-based clinical subjects category. Its research expertise spans heart disease and cancer to new areas such as genetics and regenerative medicine, with all of the work rated at international level and 40 per cent at the very highest "world leading".
The partners hope the funding will capitalise on this research excellence and lead to many new spin-out companies from the University over the next seven years as well a major expansion of clinical trials of new treatments and the forging of new links with leading international biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
Companies that are formed as a result of the strategy will also be able to benefit from the wide range of high growth business and equity support available from Scottish Enterprise to help them become successful new businesses.
Jack Perry, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, commented: “Edinburgh BioQuarter is one of our flagship projects and despite the economic downturn, still offers huge potential to transform Scotland’s economy.
“As well as providing space for large international life science firms to locate alongside the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian’s Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, we want Edinburgh BioQuarter to be a hub for indigenous life sciences businesses.
“This commercialisation strategy will help to support our efforts in this area and ensure more of the outstanding research being carried out in Scotland can be converted into commercial activity and generate real wealth for Scotland’s economy.”
Scottish Enterprise and the University of Edinburgh are currently recruiting for a programme director to spearhead the strategy and hope to generate interest from life sciences experts across the world.
Professor Sir John Savill, head of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, said: “The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh carries out world class research to gain greater understanding of disease that can be translated directly into new treatments for patients.
“This commercialisation strategy is a fantastic opportunity to translate our globally-leading biomedical science into therapies and treatments for the health of the Scottish population and beyond.”
Edinburgh BioQuarter is a partnership between Scottish Enterprise, the University of Edinburgh, NHS Lothian and Alexandria Real Estates Equities Inc – the world leading life sciences property specialist.
It will position Scotland as one of the world’s top ten hubs for life sciences research and development and will generate £250 million of investment on site over the next 15 years creating 6,500 new jobs.
It combines the University of Edinburgh’s renowned medical school, the Royal Edinburgh Infirmary and a science campus with 1.5 million square feet of academic and commercial accommodation that will act as a magnet for some of the world’s leading life sciences academics, students and clinicians.
The first building to be built on the science campus is the University of Edinburgh’s Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine, which is due for completion in 2010.