The Welsh Government has launched the Life Sciences Hub Wales, which will be a focal point for the Life Sciences and Healthcare sectors in Wales.
Based in Cardiff Bay, the Life Sciences Hub will bring together academic, business, clinical, professional services and funding organisations to provide a commercially-driven pool of talent.
Combined with the £100m Life Sciences Investment Fund, the largest dedicated investment fund for any sector in Wales, the Life Sciences Hub will place Wales on the world stage for life sciences innovation and development. It aims to connect the life sciences sector throughout Wales, attract new sector opportunities and investment, nurture emerging life sciences projects, and accelerate the growth of the life sciences sector to create jobs and economic growth.
The Hub will be officially opened today (17 July) by Welsh Minister for Economy, Science and Transport Edwina Hart.
The Life Sciences Hub aims to connect the life sciences sector throughout Wales
Hart said the Hub will cover all elements from funding to business support to international development and promotion, bringing the Life Sciences sector together for easy access by both Welsh Life Sciences companies and inward investors.
‘The Hub is central to our long-term strategy to grow the sector to deliver at least £1bn of extra value by 2022,’ she said.
The £100m Wales Life Sciences Investment Fund will be a key part of the support available to businesses, alongside other forms of finance.
The Fund was launched at the BioWales Conference in March last year with £50m of funding from the Welsh Government. It will be managed by Arthurian Life Sciences, established by biotech entrepreneur Professor Sir Chris Evans OBE. Arthurian has committed to raising another £50m.
The Fund has already made four investments, committing £20m to the Welsh Life Sciences sector to date. These include the Merthyr Tydfil-based clinical trials business Simbec Research, where the Fund provided initial growth funding and more recently a second round to fund the merger with Orion Clinical Services. Simbec has grown from a business generating revenues of £5m and employing 80 people, to a multi-site business with 250 staff across Europe. It expects to generate turnover of £25m this year.
The Fund also invested in cell therapy specialist, ReNeuron Group, as part of a financing round to fund the relocation of operations and establishment of a state-of-the-art cell manufacturing and development facility at Pencoed Technology Park, near Cardiff, due to complete in Spring 2015.
An investment was also made in Verona Pharma, which develops drugs for respiratory disease, to further advance the drugs currently undergoing clinical trials.
‘Often the hardest part of being an emerging business or an entrepreneur in the Life Sciences space is having the availability of funds,’ said Sir Chris Evans.
‘But not just that, it’s also having access to the pooled experience and knowledge of those who have done it before and the professional bodies and advisers who regularly serve our industry. I’m delighted that Wales has today made those key elements readily available through the Fund and the Life Sciences Hub and it shows to the rest of the world that Wales is a great place for Life Sciences innovation.’
Anchor tenants already secured at the Life Sciences Hub include Johnson & Johnson Innovation and GE Healthcare. The membership application process is still open, although the hub is now at over 50% capacity.
The Hub will be operated through Life Sciences Hub Wales, and will be run by Dr Ian Barwick, Chief Operating Officer.
In addition to the Hub and the Life Sciences Fund, the Welsh Government has launched Sêr Cymru, a £50m scheme to enhance and build on the research capacity in Wales.
