Biotech firm’s £12.4m plant expansion as US giant opts for Scotland

A SCOTTISH biotech facility has beaten off competition from sites in China and the US to secure a $20 million (£12.4m) investment to expand manufacturing.

Following an internal competition for the investment, US-based Life Technologies has chosen its site at Inchinnan near Glasgow for the expansion to meet rising demand for cell culture products used for drug research, development and production.

The Nasdaq-listed group already employs some 500 people at its Scottish premises which serves as its headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and up to 30 jobs could be initially created by the investment.

The company, which makes a range of chemical ingredients used by drug developers and other science-based companies, is currently in negotiation with Scottish Enterprise over financial support for the expansion move.

Gregory Lucier, chairman and chief executive of Life Technologies, highlighted the role of the company’s existing staff in reaching the decision.

“We have a skilled workforce in Scotland whose commitment gives us a competitive advantage and allows us to serve our customers with high-quality products,” said Lucier.

Anne MacColl, chief executive of Scottish Development International (SDI), added: “The fact that Life Technologies views Scotland as the ideal place to grow its business is testament to our growing reputation as a key player on an international level.”

Scotland’s deputy first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said: “Scotland’s life sciences research is rightly regarded as among the very best in the world and developments like this help to build on that enviable reputation.”

Life Technologies expects to break ground at the Inchinnan site in 2013 and to start to ship product from the facility in 2014.

The company has about 11,000 staff in 160 countries and turned over about $3.7bn last year.

Last June, a consortium that included Life Technologies received a £6m grant from the UK government’s Technology Strategy Board to develop techniques for examining tumours, so cancer specialists can tailor treatment for specific patients. The move into so-called “personalised medicine” involves examining a patient’s genes and other unique features and then developing appropriate remedies.

Life Technologies traces its roots back to 1962 with the creation of Grand Island Biological Company (GIBCO) in Grand Island, New York which made serum harvested from horses raised on their land.