Life Science CLUSTERS The magazine for pharmaceutical and bio-clusters Spring 2007 • Volume 1 • Number 1

Cluster Pro les on: San Jose, Basel, London, Scotland, Ireland

Biotech law companies Super League Biotechnology Clusters – supporting the UK as Europe’s No1 in Bioscience UK Trade & Investment

In 1999 the DTI report, “Biotechnology providers with biotechnology personnel London Development Agency has strongly Clusters”, defined ten critical factors in the at focused events, providing a source of committed to the sector by funding the generation of a successful biotechnology local information and mentoring and London Biotechnology Innovation Centre bio cluster in the UK: strong science base; promoting the cluster externally to encourage incubator, which provides space and support entrepreneurial culture; growing company commercial partnering. Increasingly, these for 20 early-stage bioscience enterprises and base; ability to attract key staff; availability networks are associated with bioincubators, has close ties with the London Biotechnology of finance; premises and infrastructure; such as Diagnox in Oxford, BioCity Network (LBN). At over 2,000 members, business support services and large companies and CELS in the North East. LBN is one of the largest of its kind in Europe, in related industries; skilled workforce; providing the internationally renowned effective networks and a supportive policy The UK Mega-Cluster BioWednesday event series and the annual environment. Genesis Conference. Cambridge In this article, we will present the current As the UK’s leading cluster, home to over 185 UKTI interacts closely with the London strengths of the UK as a bioscience mega- biotech companies, 17 of the UK’s publicly cluster and its companies, and has recently cluster, describing its component regional quoted biotech companies and a quarter of worked with drug-delivery optimiser Lipoxen clusters in the context of government the public biotechs in Europe, Cambridge to successfully evaluate and advise on the support and the ways in which UK Trade has an array of strengths. The intellectual Indian biotechnology market, resulting in & Investment interfaces with regional focus provided by the famous University, a deal that doubled the company’s size and organisations to ensure that they meet their which boasts 20% of the world’s Nobel Prize placed it in a previously inaccessible trading international objectives. winners in medicine and chemistry, also zone. made Cambridge a natural starting point for How do the UK clusters promote biotechnology in the UK. South East development of bioscience business? Oxford is now a mature cluster with over 100 It contains world-leading centres of research biopharmaceutical/healthcare companies The process of converting a novel excellence: the Sanger Centre, leading including many that have developed drugs biotechnology concept into a high value genomic research; the John Innes Centre that are in advanced clinical trials (e.g. Oxford product requires long-term finance, for plant research; the Babraham Institute Biomedica, Chroma Therapeutics), plus watertight legal protection, a structured but providing world class immunology research, significant inward investment from mainland flexible company, purpose-built premises and with a new bioincubator; and the Laboratory Europe and the US and a steady rate of M&A. well-established services. Highly experienced, for Molecular Biology that has generated The venture capital investment tally of £145m innovative individuals are needed to carry out a number of firsts including the antibody in 2004-5, was one seventh of the UK total. R&D, identify intellectual property, develop technologies that have produced most of the Particular strengths are in drug development, and run the business, raise capital and create world’s new biologic medicines. devices and diagnostics. Oxford has 4 science partner alliances. parks, 2 of which are linked to the University, Support services for biotechnology in and a strong network of seed funding. How does the government support UK Cambridge are delivered by ERBI, a privately bioclusters? run network that has strong ties with UKTI. The University’s highly active technology The network provides a wide range of support transfer office, ISIS Innovation, generates a Biotechnology, particularly the development including an annual BioPartnering event, steady rate of spin-out and IP deals. VASTox, of novel biopharmaceutical products is business mentoring, training and education a highly successful drug discovery company, acknowledged as an industry with the highest in all aspects of bioscience business and is one of the latest spin-outs from Oxford risks and the highest returns, with long strong links to other international bodies, University. A number of ‘satellites’ are also lead times and slow product cycles. In this particularly in Europe. present, including Diagnox, a bioincubator challenging environment, and in order to with onsite networking, business mentoring remain competitive, the UK needs to support and laboratory support that is run as a public- the creation and expansion of bioscience London private partnership by Oxford Innovation clusters whilst preserving innovation and London is host to over 100 bioscience with funding support from the South East entrepreneurship. companies and a constellation of research, England Development Agency (SEEDA). The manufacturing and business units belonging Harwell site supports an incubator facility The DTI provides direct financial support to global pharma’s top players, including for spin-out companies – one of which, via technology grants, as well as information the headquarters of GSK and Astra- Etiologics, went on to sign deals with major and promotional services. UKTI represents , the world’s second and fifth largest global firms such Astra-Zeneca, worth up to UK bioscience overseas, providing contacts pharmaceutical companies, respectively. $0.5bn. through networking and influence through lobbying. At regional level, the regional With 5 world-class medical schools, 28 The South East region is itself a mature development agencies (RDAs), in partnership universities and over 50 clinical research cluster providing research sites for 3 of the with private industry, provide business centres, the UK capital’s principle strengths top 10 major global pharma companies and support services and investment funds for a include medical and clinical research as well concentrations of biotechnology firms around broad range of companies in the sector as technology innovation. Slough and Southampton.

The RDAs also financially support Imperial College, led for the past 6 years South East Healthcare Technology Alliance bioincubator facilities and bioscience by Sir Richard Sykes, the former head of (SEHTA) has been set up by SEEDA to network organisations that operate at a local Glaxo-Wellcome, is one of the leading disseminate bioscience support services level, bringing together the best service research institutions in the country. The across the region, and a funding organisation,

Life Science CLUSTERS 2007 vol 1: issue 1 Page 36 the South East Growth Fund, to match private North East (antibodies, vaccines, stem cells), bio- and capital injection into growing companies. Major firms Avecia, GSK, Merck and Sanofi- health informatics, clinical trials and medical SEHTA supports the South East networks, Aventis support the North East bioscience imaging. has the UK’s largest Kent Bioscience Network, OBN, Thames economy, which is boosted by over 150 university and Astra-Zeneca’s largest research Valley Life Science Network and Southern companies; principal regional strengths are facility while Liverpool houses the National Bioscience. clinical research and, more recently, small BioManufacturing Centre. The UK Biobank scale and emerging technology. Excellent Storage facility, the Wolfson Molecular South West medical research is being carried out in the Imaging Centre and the Core Technology South West has key strengths in drug region’s universities and institutes, including Facility for post-incubator biotech and discovery, vaccines and diagnostics. The the Institute for Ageing & Health, and the healthcare companies are also located in the Universities of Exeter, Plymouth, Bath and Life Knowledge Park. Process Engineering North West. These projects are managed by particularly actively exploit their and chemistry, a critical part of the BioNoW, the bio-cluster programme within bioscience IP; Bristol has its own bioincubator pharmaceutical supply chain between drug the Northwest Regional Development Agency. and has spun out 12 bioscience companies discovery and the clinic, are represented in the last decade. The Tetricus bioincubator strongly in this region. The main support in Wiltshire, has been home to a number organisation is the Centre of Excellence for The East Midlands is home to the Universities of companies, spun out of research within Life Sciences (CELS), put in place through of Nottingham and Leicester, with exceptional the government’s Health Protection Agency EU funding and the North East RDA to biomedical research capabilities, and a major and the Defence Science and Technology support existing bioindustry and attract and manufacturing and research site for Astra- Laboratory, key biosciences players in this develop new bioscience companies. CELS also Zeneca. Nottingham has long been associated region. provides mentoring and brings investment with pharmaceuticals R&D centre, opportunities, as well as developing and purchased by BASF in the 1990s and then Success stories include GW Pharmaceuticals running business incubator and bio-park donated to Nottingham Trent University in who in 2006 brought pain-reliever Sativex facilities. CELS is part of an extensive network 2001 to become the BioCity Nottingham and its specialised dosing device through to of academics and links with the healthcare innovation and incubation centre. BioCity market, and Acolyte, sold in March 2007 to and process industries via BioNEt and the Nottingham is an example of the application 3M. The Porton, Wiltshire based incubator North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC). of commercial cluster policy, bringing is closely linked to a network of seed funds together the academic strength of the 2 local and professional service providers via Sarum North West universities and support from DTI, EU and Enterprises and BioApproaches SW. The latter North West England is the third largest the East Midlands Development Agency as is an independent networking organisation bioscience cluster, with 7 global pharma well as commercial sponsors and an in-house delivering bioscience support services on companies generating exports worth £3.4bn. business advisory team. By early 2007 Biocity behalf of the South West England RDA and This is a mature cluster that supports the housed over 40 companies either actively working closely with UKTI. The South West is entire range of biotechnology enterprise from engaged in, or supporting, commercial a rapidly developing cluster that has produced bioincubators through to the clinical and bioscience and had initiated a third phase several mature bioenterprises over a short product end of the cycle. Particular strengths of development, becoming the UK’s largest time span. in biotechnology include biomanufacture bioscience incubation centre.

Region Key Strengths RDA Key Multipliers Centres of Excellence !Sanger Centre East of England ! fully established cluster. !Babraham Institute Cambridge Development ERBI ! technology development !John Innes Centre Agency !Laboratory of Molecular Biology ! finance capital London !London Bioscience Innovation Centre London Biotechnology London ! world conference centre Development !Imperial College Network ! medical research Agency !Numerous medical schools, hospitals and institutes !Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine ! drug discovery South East England South Healthcare !Oxford Genetics Knowledge Park Oxford ! diagnostics Development Technology Alliance !Diamond Synchrotron ! devices Agency !MRC Harwell ! biomanufacture !National Bio-Manufacturing Centre ! bio- and health Northwest Regional !UK Biobank Storage Facility North West informatics Development BioNoW !Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre ! clinical trials Agency !Northwest Institute for Bio/Health Informatics ! medical imaging ! drug discovery South West England !Health Protection Agency South West ! vaccines BioApproaches SW RDA !Defence Science and Technology Laboratory ! diagnostics ! clinical research BioNET !Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences ! small & large scale North East North East RDA North East Process !Institute for Ageing & Health process Industry Cluster !Life Knowledge Park ! emerging technology. !Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental East Midlands ! biomedical research Therapeutics East Midlands Development BioCity (Nottingham) ! newly created cluster !Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Centre Agency !Cancer Research Nottingham Centre ! scientific excellence Nexxus !Translational Medicine Research Collaboration ! financial services Scotland Scottish Enterprise BioDundee !Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine ! innovative business Edinburgh BioAlliance !Centre for Biomedical Research models ! clinical research !Wound Healing Research Unit Welsh Assembly Wales Trade Wales ! medical technology !AberBioCentre Government International ! diagnostics !Centre for Applied Marine Sciences !Medical Polymers Research Institute !Centre for Functional Genomic & Molecular Biodiversity Northern ! cancer biotech Invest Northern Invest Northern !RTD Centres of Excellence in Proteomics Ireland ! medical devices Ireland Ireland !Speciality Pharmaceuticals Centre !Centre of Excellence for R&D in Controlled Drug Delivery

Life Science CLUSTERS 2007 vol 1: issue 1 Page 37 Scotland Wales around £300m, including Almac Sciences, Scotland has a centuries-old record of world- The Wales biocluster is one the most rapidly- Randox Laboratories, and Warner Chilcott class biomedical research; today, around 250 growing in the UK, with particular strengths UK. Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) is the companies make up the life science sector in clinical research, medical technology and main biotechnology support agency, which in drug discovery and medical technologies, diagnostics. has identified 2 key areas within life sciences, with many award-winning examples such The merger of Cardiff University with the i.e. cancer biotech and medical devices. Other as CXR Biosciences, first winner of UKTI’s University of Wales College of Medicine niche strengths include: tissue engineering; Innovation in Enabling Biotechnology Award, created one of the UK largest research diabetes; bio-informatics; clinical trials; and , the first European spinout to institutions, and Welsh Universities turn neurodegenerative diseases and infectious raise more than $100m in private equity. out 12,000 bioscience graduates per year. A diseases. With a mature and established cluster focus on academic-commercial collaboration Invest NI supports areas such as strategy already in place, in 2005 Scottish Enterprise has attracted and retained multi-national development, people development, R&D in alliance with key stakeholders launched names such as GE Healthcare, Convatec and export. Within the biotech sector a national strategy to exploit Scotland’s key (Bristol Myers Squibb), Merck, Bayer, Ortho Invest NI is providing £7.7m of financial strengths in scientific excellence, financial and Huntleigh Diagnostics, generating assistance to 5 Centres of Excellence and services and innovative business models, to commercial opportunities for local SMEs and the Proof of Concept programme supports create world-leading centres of excellence. University spinouts. the pre-commercialisation of leading-edge Early successes include the Translational Notable centres of excellence include the technologies emerging from Northern Medicine Research Collaboration between the Wound Healing Research Unit at Cardiff, Ireland’s universities. four main Universities, Glasgow, Edinburgh, AberBioCentre at Aberystwyth and the Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish Enterprise Centre for Applied Marine Sciences at Bangor. Bioclusters have helped maintain the and global pharmaceutical company Wyeth Sector development is supported by “Team UK’s bioscience lead in a £100m deal. Edinburgh is famous for Wales”, including the Welsh Assembly By playing to the key strengths the first successful mammalian cloning, and Government and International Business intrinsic to the location, clusters of this excellence in stem cell research has led Wales. ‘cooperative competition’ have been to the launch of the £59m Scottish Centre Mentoring and signposting is provided by built which attract the best innovators for Regenerative Medicine. In addition, the regional business network, Technium, and entrepreneurs. The strengths of the the Centre for Biomedical Research is a while Finance Wales provides funds to help clusters have enabled the UK to develop £600m public/private sector investment to innovative SMEs. create a flagship Life Science Campus that the most mature bioscience industry in will house both academic and commercial Northern Ireland Europe, second only to the US. From research, attracting the world’s best bioscience In Northern Ireland approximately 50 initial discovery to market, the UK has researchers and companies. biosciences companies generate turnover of developed a strong high quality pipeline.

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