Scottish Enterprise welcomes new mega-lab in Scotland
COVID-19 testing capabilities to be significantly enhanced
Welcoming the announcement from the UK Government's Department for Health and Social Care that one of two new high throughput laboratories will be located in Scotland, Linda Hanna, interim CEO of Scottish Enterprise, said: "The decision to choose Scotland as a location for this ultra-high throughput lab is a real vote of confidence.
“This new mega-lab will ramp-up the number of tests that can be processed each day, while also delivering a significant jobs boost and new supply chain opportunities for Scottish companies.
“We’re pleased to have played our part in bringing this mega-lab to Scotland, building on our existing work to support frontline services with critical COVID-19 supplies. Scottish Enterprise will continue to work with our partners across the public and private sectors to tackle this global pandemic.”
The Scotland lab will process up to 300,000 samples a day when operating at full capacity, meaning faster turnaround times for test results. The other lab will be based in Leamington Spa, with both expected to open in early 2021.
The location of the ultra-high throughout lab in Scotland is still to be confirmed, with the Scottish Government working closely with its UK Government counterparts on this. The lab in Scotland is expected to create around 1,800 jobs once fully operational.