Birmingham Health Innovation Campus will create 10,000 new jobs

A new life sciences hub is set to be developed in the West Midlands and will become the only science park in the region dedicated to translational health and life sciences research.

The Birmingham Health Innovation Campus will set at the centre of an established cluster of health excellence led by Birmingham Health Partners (BHP) – a strategic alliance between the University of Birmingham and two co-located NHS Foundation Trusts (University Hospitals Birmingham and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s).

The development of the campus is set to be delivered via a long-term collaboration between the University of Birmingham and Bruntwood Scitech, a property provider for the science and technology sector.

The campus will provide up to 657,000 square feet of lab, office and incubation space, providing co-location opportunities for health and life sciences businesses at all clinical or commercial stages.

“With access to Birmingham’s world-class genomics laboratories, health data programmes, healthcare technology development teams, clinical trials leadership and academic expertise, this campus will become the ideal place for innovative health and life sciences businesses to thrive,” said Tim Jones, University of Birmingham provost and vice-principal.

“This ambitious new development will leverage the existing integrated BHP ecosystem to drive innovation and economic growth – all centred on a shared mission to transform the health of all citizens, in Birmingham and beyond, by accelerating the development and adoption of healthcare innovations,” he added.

The campus has already received development funding from Birmingham City Council and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership. It has also been designated a Life Science Opportunity Zone by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

According to the University of Birmingham, the campus will aid the development of a new high-growth life sciences cluster for the city and region. By 2030, the campus will have received £210m in investment, creating around 10,000 new jobs and delivering over £400m GVA to the local economy, the university added.

“Life sciences is an incredibly exciting and important sector that we have been quietly growing in the West Midlands over the last few years. Now with this announcement we are cementing our ambition to be one of the global leaders in this sector,” commented Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands.

Site was acquired from Eli Lilly

Biopharmaceutical company UCB has acquired a new campus for its UK operations located in Windlesham, Surrey.

The campus will support the company’s research and development, early manufacturing and commercialisation of medicines in the UK.

With the acquisition of the Windlesham site expected to be completed in November 2020, the company added that the investment reflects UCB’s commitment to keep the UK as one of its three global hubs for research and development.

Including the acquisition of the new campus, UCB’s projected investment in the UK is set to top £1bn over five years. The transition to the new facility in Surrey will support over 650 high-value jobs in scientific research, translational medicine, clinical development, early manufacturing and commercial roles.

UCB acquired the 47-acre campus from Eli Lilly – following the completion of the acquisition, the site will be refurbished prior to UCB relocating from its current UK headquarters in Slough, Berkshire.

The company has a network of collaborations with UK universities, charities and other companies to aid in its endeavours to advance scientific research in the UK.

“We have a strong track record of discovering medicines in the UK which go on to make a difference to the lives of patients worldwide,” said Jean-Christophe Tellier, chief executive officer at UCB.

“I am delighted to have signed an agreement to secure this new campus for our UK hub, from which our scientists will be able to continue to develop their extensive collaborations with some of the most innovative universities, bio-techs and medical research charities, bringing even greater benefit for patients.

“This new UK site will not only support our ambitions for future drug discovery, it will also be well-placed to enable us to achieve our 2030 global sustainability goals, and it provides an environment which supports the physical and mental well-being of our people, which is essential in helping us thrive,” he added.

“It’s fantastic to see that UCB has reaffirmed its commitment to the UK’s world-leading life sciences sector, and I welcome the role this facility will play in creating hundreds of high-value jobs in the years to come,” commented Nadhim Zahawi, Business and Industry Minister.

Life sciences activity contributes an annual GVA of over £1.1bn

A report by the Fraser of Allander Institute, commissioned and supported by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has identified the growing importance of the life sciences sector in Northern Ireland.

According to the research, the life sciences sector has seen major growth in Northern Ireland over the last few years, with employment in both pharmaceuticals and medicines manufacturing climbing by 6% since the last record in 2015. Wider life sciences employment also increased by 12% in the same period.

The report characterised life sciences to include all pharmaceutical industry, medicines manufacturing and healthcare activity across Northern Ireland.

In addition, life sciences activity contributes an annual gross value added (GVA) of over £1.1bn in Northern Ireland, mainly driven by the pharmaceutical industry which employs 13,900 people and generates a GVA of £910m.

The life sciences sector is also now the joint second-biggest spender on research and development in Northern Ireland alongside the machine industry, investing £74m in 2018 according to the latest NISRA data. According to the ABPI, companies are attracted to Northern Ireland for a number of reasons including skills availability and excellent infrastructure.

On top of that, Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast rank among the top ten in the UK for bioscience research, ensuring a continued supply of high-skilled scientists required for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries to advance medical science.
“Science will help us beat this pandemic and good-quality jobs will help us deal with its economic fallout. Northern Ireland’s thriving life sciences sector provides both,” said Colette Goldrick, director of ABPI Northern Ireland.

“Public and private enterprises are already having a positive impact on the lives of people across the country and today’s report shows there is a solid foundation for growth in the future. The message is clear: our sector is flourishing,” she added.

Over £1bn raised between June and August 2020

Data from the BioIndustry Association (BIA) and Clarivate reveals that UK biotech companies raised over £1bn between June and August 2020.

The equity finance investment during this period is the highest quarter for investments in the sector on record, the BIA added.

By October this year, £1.9bn had been raised for the UK biotech sector, meaning that it is on target to be the best year ever recorded.

In particular, the report shows that £119m, was raised through the year’s first initial public offering, as well as £282m raised through venture capital (VC), including a return to pre-COVID-19 levels of seed and early VC deals.

A further £601m was raised through other public financings on both London and New York exchanges as biotech shares continue to perform across the Atlantic.

During this quarter, some notable investments in companies included Freeline Therapeutics, which topped investments with a £119m IPO on the NASDAQ. Also, NodThera – which is developing anti-inflammatory therapeutics – raised £41m in a series B venture capital deal.

“During the pandemic, UK biotech has shown its strategic value and received great interest from UK based investors, with many investing in the sector for the first time,” said Steve Bates, chief executive of the BIA.

“This could be transformative for patients and the economy, and for shareholders, when combined with the global money we already attract – large pharma, US and Chinese venture capitalists are already aware of the vast opportunities UK biotech presents,” he added.
“Biotech companies are well positioned to deliver the clinical advances patients need. Not only have companies across the globe banked record sums this year but, in the first three quarters of this year, specialist biotech investors have raised more than $16bn in new funds to support biotech in the coming years,” commented Mike Ward, global head of thought leadership, DRG, a part of Clarivate.