December 17, 2014
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Editor
British authorities are betting heavily on their local laboratories and life scientists, saying Wednesday that they will invest £6 billion and create an entirely new strategy to keep U.K. sciences and innovation at the “forefront of global excellence.”
Supported by Universities, Science and Cities Minister Greg Clark, the new plan plots out the British government’s milestones and blueprints for its investment and support all the way up to 2021. Included in that is £3 billion to support individual capital projects and institutional capital “to maintain the excellence” of laboratories at universities and research institutes.
“Science and innovation will play an important part in defining the UK’s place in the world in the 21st century. This strategy builds on the great strengths of British science and enterprise and will make sure the UK is the best place in the world to do science and grow an innovative business,” said Clark, in a statement.
There was no mention of shoring up huge local biotech firms such as AstraZeneca , but those companies will no doubt benefit from having first-in-class institutions pumping out skilled life sciences workers and research. An additional £2.9 billion will be put toward scientific ‘grand challenges’, including £20 million towards studying how ageing happens, based at an “innovation center” in Newcastle.
“We need to maintain our competitive edge so this strategy sets out a long-term plan for expanding our innovation infrastructure, creating high value jobs and putting science and innovation at the heart of economic growth,” said Vince Cable, secretary of state for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
This will include involving the well-regarded Catapult network, which is a web of Innovate UK-funded technology and innovation centers. The collaborative research and development network said it expand in 2015 with two more Catapults for Precision Medicine and Energy Systems.
