Scottish Enterprise has made a multi-million pound commitment to a plan to develop a life sciences complex in Dundee under an initiative that ministers hope will create 800 jobs in the area.
The development agency has agreed to provide £8 million to support the development of a life sciences innovation hub at the University of Dundee.
The centre will host spin out firms that Scottish Enterprise hopes will be able to capitalise on the strength of the university’s expertise to achieve success in fast-growing global markets.
It is due to open early next year.
Scottish Enterprise said the hub will anchor new high-growth businesses that will enhance Dundee’s reputation as a global leader in health and life sciences research.
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The £40m hub will be the centrepiece of the Tay Cities Biomedical Cluster project, which Scottish Enterprise has predicted will create around 800 new jobs and bring a financial benefit of more than £190m to the region by 2053.
The Scottish Government agreed to provide £25m support for the cluster under the Tay Cities Region Deal, which was signed in December 2020.
The UK and Scottish Governments agreed to invest up to £150m each under the deal.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said yesterday: “The Scottish Government is committed to growing the life sciences sector, recognising its ability to attract inward investment, generate further growth by supporting spin-off organisations, whilst creating new, high-quality jobs in Scotland.”
She said Scottish Enterprise’s investment would enhance the Tay region’s reputation as a world-leading life sciences hub whilst helping to create 800 new jobs.
The success of the University of Dundee in life sciences has provided a valuable boost for its home city. Dundee has been hit hard by the loss of manufacturing jobs at firms such as Michelin and NCR in recent decades.
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The Tay Cities Region Deal website notes the agreement covers an area in which around 490,000 people, or about 10% of Scotland’s population live, but in which growth in output and jobs has lagged the Scottish average.
“The area is generally characterised by a low-wage/no wage economy, where Dundee has the third highest unemployment rate in Scotland,” it says.
The investment that Scottish Enterprise is making in the life sciences hub is in line with the new “missions-based” strategy the organisation has adopted under chief executive Adrian Gillespie.
Scottish Enterprise aims to double the number of scale-up businesses in Scotland over the next ten years by focusing on industries where Scottish businesses have global strengths, including life sciences.
Scottish Enterprise said it had more than doubled its high growth spin-out portfolio in recent years, helping to create 24 companies with potential to scale since 2020.
The organisation noted: “The University of Dundee has benefited from over £2m Scottish Enterprise spin-out funding as part of this activity, creating companies including biotechnology business Tay Therapeutics.”
Seven or more firms spun out of the university have benefited.
Mr Gillespie said “Scotland is internationally renowned for its life sciences excellence and innovation with Dundee being central to this.
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“The Hub will enable spinouts to remain close to their parent university at a crucial stage in their development while benefitting from bespoke support to grow, scale and flourish.”
Mr Gillespie said the hub would bring together the kind of globally ambitious innovators and entrepreneurs that could be crucial to the success of Scotland’s economy.
Scottish Enterprise will promote the hub through its international networks to potential inward investors who are keen to collaborate with entrepreneurs and young businesses.
The £8m SE funding for the life sciences hub will be additional to the £25m Scottish Government support for the Biomedical Cluster.
Dr David McBeth, Vice-Principal (Enterprise and Economic Transformation) at the University of Dundee, said: “By providing state-of-the-art facilities for early-stage, high-growth companies in the Health and Life Sciences sector, we will ensure that inventions from the University of Dundee and other universities, colleges and research institutes in the Tay Cities region will remain anchored in Dundee as they grow.”
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