Life sciences project aims to boost Covid-19 recovery after smashing investment target

The success of a life sciences accelerator project in creating 70 companies and more than 200 jobs can act as a springboard for Scotland’s economic recovery from Covid-19, according to experts.

The MediCity facility in Glasgow which has supported the launch of 70 life sciences and medical technology companies over the past five years.

Figures released today show that MediCity Glasgow has helped raise more than £26 million in private investment for start-ups, more than five times the original project goal.

The project’s backers believe the “lean start-up” approach taken to helping companies can play an important role in ensuring Scotland has a significant pool of early-stage companies to ensure economic growth beyond the pandemic.

The accelerator helps scientists assess the commercial viability of their ideas without the need for significant investment. It also develops the skills and mindset required to accelerate the commercialisation of scientific research from lab to market.

Colin Roberts, venture development director of BioCity Group that set up the project with backing from partners including Scottish Enterprise, said the success had “far exceeded many of its original targets”.

He said: “The outcomes have been achieved with relatively modest public sector co-funding, representing a significant return on investment for the project stakeholders.

“Continued and sustained investment in the commercialisation of life sciences and health technology research is essential to both economic recovery in Scotland and the continued fight against Covid-19.”

He said the project has the potential to scale its impact on the sector even further, significantly building on Scotland’s established expertise in life sciences and complementing a number of new infrastructure projects planned across the nation.

“These will require a significant pool of early-stage companies to ensure longer-term growth targets are met during and beyond the pandemic.”

Other organisations involved in the MediCity Glasgow project include Glasgow City Region Deal, North Lanarkshire Council and the UK Department of Business Innovation and Skills.

Transformative

UK government Minister for Scotland, Iain Stewart, said: “This is a fantastic example of how transformative City Region and Growth Deal projects can be, and shows that the UK government’s £1.5 billion investment in deals across Scotland is essential to our economic recovery and future prosperity.”

Origin Peptides, one of the companies that benefited from the accelerator programme to develop a new technique to potentially to make insulin cheaper, has since moved on to be part of Scottish Enterprise’s high-growth portfolio.

It expects to treble its headcount to ten in the next few years as it expands production capabilities and invests in further research and development.

Sara ten Have, founder and director of the company, said: “Science is a very expensive field and it can be incredibly difficult to secure the funds required for equipment, lab space and skilled personnel to produce the results you need.

“MediCity has been phenomenal for us. Not only did it provide us with a suitable base from which to operate and a supporting infrastructure that was ready to go, but it introduced us to the right people, who were able to give us the right advice at the right time as part of the accelerator.”

The sciences sector in Scotland employs 41,000 people.

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