This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Eastern promise for biotech sector
24/10/2003
There is a real interest and enthusiasm in Japan for the
Scottish approach to biotechnology, Deputy First Minister
Jim Wallace said today.
Mr Wallace was meeting Fujisawa Pharmaceutical and
Mitsubishi Pharma during his week-long visit to the Far
East. The companies have joint research projects with
Edinburgh University, and Glasgow University and
Strathclyde University respectively.
He said:
"Scotland's biotechnology sector has made remarkable
strides in recent years. Scottish biotech is diverse,
ranging from medicine and pharmaceuticals to marine
bioscience and nanotechnology, and is growing at almost
twice the pace of the industry in the rest of Europe - 28%
compared to 15% elsewhere.
"The sector is already recognised internationally as a
centre of excellence, but a challenge still remains - how
to achieve a sustainable industry base and a complement of
highly successful, flagship companies. Strengthening the
industry's international networks is a key factor in
bringing this about.
"Today I've discussed two excellent initiatives which
show business and higher education working together, and
the importance of collaboration in the successful
commercialisation of research.
"Fujisawa and the Department of Pharmacology at
Edinburgh University have been working together since 1989,
and their collaboration has seen the establishment of the
Fujisawa Institute of Neuroscience at Edinburgh (FINE).
FINE focuses on research into disorders of the central
nervous system. The Yoshitomi Research Institute into
Neuroscience in Glasgow is a collaboration between
Misubishi Pharma and the Universities of Glasgow and
Strathclyde which aims to discover and evaluate new drugs
for the treatment of schizophrenia.
"Scotland's world class reputation has been confirmed
to me not only in today's meetings but in others I've had
this week. There is clearly a real appetite within the
Japanese pharma sector to develop this collaboration
further, and significant interest in the concept of our
Intermediary Technology Institutes (ITIs).
Mr Wallace continued:
"We want Scottish biotech to build on its reputation and
take advantage of worldwide opportunities. Links with
Japan are already good, but Scotland has still to realise
the full potential of the Japanese market. The sector and
the Scottish economy will reap the rewards - in increasing
employment and exports, and in the transfer of skills and
knowledge.
"Outreach activity is also crucial for future succes.
Scotland is the destination for next year's BioEquity
Europe conference. Hosted by Scottish Enterprise, this
will be the largest single gathering of bioscience funding
bodies in Europe. This is the first time the event has
come to the UK and will make Scotland the focus of the
global bioscience community."
Scottish Enterprise's Framework for Action report (2003)
- measuring progress on the cluster development strategy
for biotechnology - shows that there are now over 25,000
people employed in the Scottish biotech industry and over
400 life sciences organisations.
Support for further development of the industry includes
the new Life Sciences ITI to be launched later this year -
which will help biotech to focus research in areas with
global market opportunties - and the existing Proof of
Concept Fund which supports commercialisation
initiatives.