Patricia Hewitt, secretary of state for trade and industry, today confirmed the go-ahead for a £30m National Bio-manufacturing Centre in Speke, south Liverpool.
The 34,905 sq ft (3,250 sq m) facility will be based at the Estuary Business Park and comprise three laboratories and a production plant.
Funding for the facility has come from a £9.74m grant from Merseyside’s Objective One programme, a further £3m from the Department for Trade and Industry and the remainder from the North West Development Agency (NWDA).
Speaking at a press conference in Liverpool today, Hewitt said: “This is a huge boost not only for Merseyside but for the whole of Britain.
“The bio-manufacturing sector has enormous growth potential and this centre will help British companies and research organisations seize important opportunities in years to come.”
The centre is aimed at meeting the shortfall in specialist services for smaller bio-firms without the capacity to deliver large orders.
A building contractor has yet to be appointed for the scheme but it is hoped completion will occur in late 2004.
The centre will be managed by Eden BioDesign and initially employ 74 staff directly, with a further 850 jobs hopefully created by companies investing in the region as a result.
The scheme has been orchestrated by the NWDA via its Northwest Science Council, which claims to be the first regional science strategy unit in England.
Speke is already home to Evans Vaccines, part of Powderject Pharmaceuticals, and Merseyside as a whole is a base for more than 25 bio-manufacturing firms.
References: EGi News 12/03/03
