Life sciences network expands east

Published on Sunday 3 August 2008 22:02

LIFE science companies in the east of Scotland are to get their own network to support local businesses and academic research, The Scotsman can reveal.

The network will help businesses and academics to find out about other projects being carried out in their area and will help researchers to share experience and find partners for future ventures.

The new organisation – which will be modelled on Nexxus, the west of Scotland bioscience network – has secured funding from the European Development Fund, the Scottish Government's SEEKIT programme, Scottish Enterprise, the Edinburgh Science Triangle and the Glasgow-Edinburgh Collaboration.

Research commissioned this year by Scottish Enterprise found that up to 2.3 million of net additional gross value added in the west of Scotland could be directly attributed to Nexxus in that area, with the figure rising to 2.9m for Scotland as a whole.

The study, carried out by Biggar Economics, found that Nexxus was also responsible for creating the equivalent of 51 full-time jobs in the west and a total of 64 around Scotland as a whole. Now its founders hope that Nexxus Edinburgh, the new bioscience network for the east of Scotland, will be able to give a similar boost to companies in the area. Nexxus is currently advertising for a director to oversee operations in both the east and west, along with managers to run the two organisations.

Professor Chris Packard, chairman of the Nexxus steering group and director of research and development at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: "These are exciting times for Nexxus. Not only have we secured further funding for the next three years, but we are also spreading east in a collaboration with the Edinburgh Science Triangle."

He added: "This enables us to promote and support the life science community across the entire Central Belt, encompassing a number of internationally prestigious life-science companies, research universities and core NHS boards.

"Following the glowing review of the first five years of Nexxus activities, we anticipate continued success in bringing together these parties to form new formal, and informal, collaborations.

"Life science is a success story for Scotland and this venture will make a real contribution to furthering the sense of community and shared purpose here."

Barry Shafe, project director at the Edinburgh Science Triangle, said: "Where Nexxus has been particularly successful is in running networking events that bring groups together to talk about subjects that are of common interest. It's intelligent networking.

"Nexxus has helped to connect business to business, academic to academic and academic to business in a structured way.

"This is a key component of Edinburgh Science Triangle – we aim to attract inward investment and to help bring community between science and academia, which will ultimately lead to more collaboration."

Laura Gordon, director of the Glasgow-Edinburgh Collaboration, added: "This hub will provide an opportunity to attract high-value inward investment within the globally competitive life-sciences market, which will not only be beneficial for the region, but for Scotland as a whole.

"We are proud to support Nexxus, as it provides the foundations for interaction and collaboration across the Central Belt."