£40m hub to drive health innovation and life sciences company growth in Aberdeen

A £40 million investment project is set to deliver an innovation hub to double the number of life sciences companies in North East Scotland and support the national ambitions for the sector to collaborate, innovate and commercialise the next generation of therapies and healthcare solutions.

The Bio-therapeutics Hub for Innovation in Aberdeen will be a focal point for sector ambition and growth and has secured £20 million of capital funding from the UK and Scottish Governments through the Aberdeen City Region Deal (CRD), a partnership between Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils and private sector led economic development body Opportunity North East (ONE).

ONE, which has led the development of the project with partners, has committed an additional £3.6 million of its own funding over seven years to operate the hub and deliver the bespoke support activity that will make Aberdeen one of the most dynamic environments to create and grow life sciences businesses.

The project supports the goals of regional economic diversification, growing the Scottish sector to £8 billion turnover by 2025, and creating a globally-unique and internationally competitive life sciences ecosystem in the UK with collaboration across industry, the NHS, academia and research funders delivering health and wealth.

The project has been developed by the ONE Life Sciences sector board, University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University, NHS Grampian and Scottish Enterprise and the ONE team is leading its delivery.

The innovation hub will be located on the Foresterhill Health Campus in Aberdeen – one of Europe’s largest integrated clinical, research, teaching and commercial health sites.

The 69,000 sqft new-build facility will include accommodation for spin-outs, start-ups and established companies; collaboration space; and shared facilities for events, small conferences and networking. Sector-specific support programmes in the hub will include incubation, acceleration, mentoring, commercialisation and growth planning. The hub will also be a catalyst for international collaborations and investment into research and companies.

A design team has been appointed to support the delivery of the project with a target of opening in December 2020. A planning application for the hub will be submitted in spring 2019 and construction is scheduled to start later that year.

The project was formally launched to an audience of partners, life sciences companies and industry stakeholders today (21 November 2018).

Sir Ian Wood KT GBE, chair of Opportunity North East, said: “The innovation hub is a transformational project for our life sciences sector. It builds on our strengths and opportunities, including in biologics and digital healthcare, where we have the specialisms to be at the forefront of health innovation. The Scottish and UK Governments are backing our vision through the Aberdeen City Region Deal. In co-creating, developing and now delivering this project, ONE is accelerating transformational change for the sector and region. ONE’s commitment to its success is supported by the £3.6m that we will provide over seven years to run the hub and deliver support programmes. We have the talented people in the sector and now they will have the right environment and support to translate ideas and research into new diagnostics and treatments. Great credit is due to Prof Stephen Logan and the ONE Life Sciences board members, who have developed this concept into a project in delivery.”