SBC opens with exciting year ahead and first tenant
First tenant moves in
Stevenage, UK, February 9 2012 –Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC), the UK’s first open innovation bioscience campus, is pleased to announce that it is now open for business. In addition, it has welcomed its first tenant,Aptiv Solutions, which has taken space in the Incubator building. SBC expects its first year of operation to be a busy one – discussions with a range of interesting tenants are progressing, and the facility will play host to various conferences and events focused on rejuvenation of the UK biosciences sector.
Focused on early-stage drug discovery and development, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst forms a unique and collaborative environment for companies large and small. Its offering, from access to stakeholder expertise, high quality equipment, free e-journal use, laboratory, office, virtual and hot desking space, is proving very attractive. Work is underway on further defining the technological areas in which SBC and its collaborators will develop open innovation activities. In addition, in order to start-up, incubate and grow new companies, mechanisms for access to intellectual property and further funding are in development.
For Aptiv Solutions and in particular theTranslational and Medical Sciences Consultancy division, the move to Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst provides a unique opportunity to participate in the open innovation ethos of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, while benefiting from the state-of-the-art facilities and environment available to tenants. Aptiv Solutions provides comprehensive drug and medical device development services with an expertise in Adaptive Clinical Trial design, simulation and execution.
Commenting on these exciting developments, Dr Martino Picardo, CEO ofStevenage Bioscience Catalyst said, ‘Everyone in the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst team is delighted that we are open for business, and many thanks are due to everyone associated with the delivery of the facility. We are really pleased that our first occupant is a quality company like Aptiv Solutions, and are very encouraged by the discussions we are having with other potential tenants. Our busy year of conferences and events at SBC starts with the Praxis/Unico conference ‘Young and Emerging Healthcare Companies – Delivering the Future1’ on March 1, and I look forward to seeing many of you there.’.
Pat Donnelly, CEO and Chairman of Aptiv Solutions stated, “We recognise that innovation is central to the success of drug and medical device development in addressing unmet medical needs. In joining the vision created by SBC to tackle the challenges the biopharmaceutical industry faces by driving new approaches in discovery and development, we offer our congratulations to the founders of SBC in their initiative to create a unique knowledge hub for scientific innovation. We are excited about the possibilities that this facility and the evolving community will generate.”.
Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is a joint venture between the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills, GlaxoSmithKline, the Wellcome Trust, the East of England Development Agency and the Technology Strategy Board. The £38m development is an independent bioscience facility.
