North of England to get national biotech facility

A contract has been signed by specialist firm Thermal Transfer to construct and commission a National Industrial Biotechnology Facility (NIBF) at the Centre for Process Innovation's (CPI) Wilton site in the north of England. Thermal Transfer will now begin the detailed engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the NIBF, which is due for completion at the end of the year.

CPI's NIBF will be a key component in bringing advancements in biotechnology to the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors using enzymatic rather than synthetic processes. Revolutionary new enzymes produced by one of CPI's partners, the Manchester-based Centre of Excellence in Biocatalysis, Biotransformations and Biocatalytic Manufacturing (CoE BIO3), will be used at the Wilton site to 'bring biotechnological theory to life'.

The aim of the NIBF is to engender progress in biotechnology by developing and demonstrating new processes. It will also produce trial quantities of new products, enable whole processes to be demonstrated and allow for the commercial pros and cons to be assessed.

The facility is to be built in collaboration with several partners, including CoEBIO3 and the three regional development agencies One NorthEast, Yorkshire Forward and Northwest Development Agency via The Northern Way and Thermal Transfer, along with support from many other companies and institutions, including GlaxoSmithKline. There has already been a huge amount of interest in the facility and it is expected it will be self-sustaining in just two years.

'This will establish the North of England as the UK centre for demonstration and scale-up of industrial biotechnology. And it will provide us with the capability to embrace industrial biotechnology and create new jobs,' said CPI's Dr Chris Dowle, who is leading the project to create the new facility.