Deputy First Minister announces £9.5 million to compete in global precision medicine industry

• Precision Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre will receive up to £9.5 million in public funding for the next five years to support the growth of the precision medicine industry in Scotland and its contribution to the NHS.
• The global industry for precision medicine is estimated to be worth over $130bn by 2025.
• Savings generated by precision medicine for the NHS in Scotland are estimated to be in the region of £70 billion over a period of 50 years.
• The Precision Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre will target an additional £4.2 million of income from other sources.

Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, has announced up to £9.5 million of new funding to strengthen Scotland’s position in precision medicine, an industry estimated to be worth over $130 billion by 2025. The announcement was made at a gathering of academics and business leaders that took place today in Perth.

The funding will be invested over the next five years by the Scottish Funding Council and Scottish Enterprise. It will support the growth of precision medicine in Scotland through industry-led projects managed by the Precision Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre (formerly the Stratified Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre). The initiative’s backers believe that precision medicine - where medical decisions, treatments, practices, and products are  tailored to individual patients – can also deliver substantial savings for the NHS in Scotland.

Speaking ahead of today’s event, the Deputy First Minister said: “Scotland has the potential to be a world leader in the field of precision medicine and this new £9.5 million investment will build on the success of our earlier work within phase one.

“The funding announced today - £7.5 million from the Scottish Funding Council and up to £2 million from Scottish Enterprise – will be used to support the use of precision medicine in the NHS and to accelerate the growth of the industry in Scotland.

“It will also be used to promote the progress Scotland has made within precision medicine and attract people with the right qualifications and skills to work and study within the field here.

“Precision medicine offers significant health benefits by tailoring medical treatment to individual patients but it also provides economic benefits including increased turnover and job creation and enhanced levels of collaboration between industry, the education sector and the NHS.

“The Scottish Government is committed to accelerating the development and implementation of precision medicine to bring health and wealth benefits for generations to come.”

The newly launched phase 2 of the Precision Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre will continue to act as a catalyst for partnerships between industry, academics and clinical experts. In phase 1 the Innovation Centre produced a number of large scale exemplar projects in areas including ovarian cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, oesophageal cancer and multiple sclerosis.

The Precision Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre will use the funding announced today to support the implementation of precision medicine in the NHS and to accelerate the growth of the industry in Scotland. It will also work to raise Scotland’s international profile in the field of precision medicine and increase the number of people with the qualifications and skills required by the industry.

David Smith, Director of National Opportunities at Scottish Enterprise, said: “It’s great to see the Precision Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre continue to evolve as the need for tailored, personal medical solutions becomes ever greater.

"The precision medicine industry is estimated to be worth more than $130bn globally by 2025, so work in this area presents a significant opportunity to strengthen the Scottish economy by enhancing our reputation as a global leader.

"At Scottish Enterprise we are also passionate about improving wellbeing for all of Scotland’s citizens, so we’re pleased that the centre will work alongside industry, academics and clinical experts to deliver better healthcare outcomes for patients.”

Marian McNeil, Chief Operating Officer of the Precision Medicine Innovation Centre, said: “Precision Medicine offers the opportunity to improve how patients are treated and this will bring savings for the NHS in Scotland which have been estimated to be in the region of £70 billion over a period of 50 years. There are currently around 230 Scottish companies working in this area and this investment opens the door to further growth in jobs and investment.”

In addition to the funding from the Scottish Funding Council and Scottish Enterprise, the Precision Medicine Innovation Centre expects to be able to attract around £4.2 million of income from other sources.

Ends

For further information contact Stephen Crowe, Assistant Director Communications, Scottish Funding Council, tel: 0131 313 6612, email: scrowe@sfc.ac.uk

Notes for editors

1. About precision medicine

Precision medicine is centred on the patient and is tailored towards individual needs. It includes improved methods of diagnosis. Its benefits include a more efficient health service, quicker treatment and recovery times, better well-being in communities and less time lost in the economy to illness.  

2. About the Precision Medicine Innovation Centre

The Precision Medicine Innovation Centre’s focus is on accelerating the growth of the precision medicine industry in Scotland and on the adoption of precision medicine in Scotland’s National Health Service.

The Precision Medicine Innovation Centre was established by the Scottish Funding Council in 2013 under the name of the Stratified Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre (SMS-IC). It had an initial investment of £8 million.

The Centre is based at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

3. About the Scottish Funding Council

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) is helping to make Scotland the best place in the world to educate, to research and to innovate. Investing around £1.8 billion of public money each year, SFC’s funding enables Scotland’s colleges and universities to provide life-changing opportunities for over half a million people and to help create a prosperous future economy. For further information see www.sfc.ac.uk

4. About Scottish Enterprise

Scottish Enterprise is Scotland's national economic development agency. We’re committed to growing the Scottish economy for the benefit of all, helping to create more quality jobs and a brighter future for every region. 

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5. About the Scottish Innovation Centre programme

The Scottish Innovation Centre programme, which was launched in 2013, brings together a network of innovation centres focused on different industry sectors or cross-cutting areas of innovation. Each centre works to establish bonds between Scotland’s universities, colleges, research institutes and industry sectors - translating academic knowledge and expertise into commercially valuable skills and improvements that benefit individual companies as well as Scotland’s overall economy. For further information see https://www.innovationcentres.scot/