The SNP Government is investing £11.1 million in a new Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC), which is expected to help create an additional 500 new job and boost this flourishing Scottish industry.
The IBioIC has more than 100 members which include a range of organisations working in biotech, ranging from huge multinationals to small scale micro enterprises and is set to focus on developing leadership skills, accelerating commercialisation of new technologies, and enhancing the skills of Scotland’s biotechnology workforce.
The funding will be invested by the Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise over the next five years. This will support the SNP Government’s National Plan for Biotechnology by contributing 500 jobs to the 1,400 the National Plan seeks to create; jobs available to people across the west of Scotland.
Ivan McKee MSP, Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation, said:
“This investment from the Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise builds on the £120m already invested in Scotland's eight innovation centres which are already having a transformational effect on our economy.
“I am pleased to confirm that the Scottish Government, through our national agencies, is able to invest £11.1m to support the IBioIC to drive forward Scotland's industrial biotechnology sector.”
Kenneth Gibson MSP added:
“Industrial biotechnology underpins innovation in multiple sectors from healthcare to agriculture, and could also be central to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the use of fossil fuels by promoting more efficient and sustainable production lines.
“The IBioIC is therefore wonderfully positioned to promote growth and to deliver significant value for the Government, Scottish businesses and the wider public. While it will be based in Glasgow, North Ayrshire’s thriving life sciences sector will undoubtedly benefit, helping it to grow even faster, creating and sustaining employment and contributing to increased prosperity.”
Please click here to read the National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology 2015-2025.
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