This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Life sciences strategy launched
10/02/2005
A strategy designed to make Scotland a world renowned
home for life sciences research and companies was launched
today.
Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace also announced that
the Executive was driving forward with plans for a new
investment fund to help meet funding gaps in innovative
industries like life sciences. Consultation on the new fund
will begin tomorrow.
Setting out details of the strategy to a 600 strong
audience from the Scottish life sciences community at the
Royal Museum of Scotland, Mr Wallace said that he wanted
"to get to the point where our life sciences sector is a
success story on a scale that matches our achievement in
sectors such as the financial services and oil and
gas."
The strategy sets out a clear route whereby Scotland can
achieve critical mass in the life sciences sector by 2020 -
increasing the size of the sector and, more importantly,
shifting the balance towards a larger proportion of bigger
companies. There are four vital factors which lie at the
heart of the strategy:
- The right people
- The right resources
- Greater focus
- Greater collaboration
The main action points which emerge from the strategy
are:
- Attracting more young people to
take up courses and careers in the life sciences.
- Bring to Scotland people and
companies looking for a place to grow and succeed.
- Strengthen the volume and type of
public and private funding available for life
sciences.
- Improved supply of affordable
accommodation and enhanced transport links.
- Focus business support efforts
more tightly on areas of real competitive promise.
- Rationalise the number of
initiatives and support bodies.
- Establish a Life Sciences
Alliance which includes representatives from industry,
academia, NHSScotland and the public sector.
- Improve links between the life
sciences sector and Scotland's financial
community.
- Enterprise networks and ITI Life
Sciences to provide the sector with intelligence on key
market and technology trends.
Speaking at the Scottish Life Sciences Annual Dinner,
Jim Wallace said:
"The strategy has been driven by the industry members of
the Life Sciences Industry Advisory Group - but has also
involved a wide ranging consultation with all parts of the
life sciences community.
"The life sciences sector is already a success story -
from our academic research excellence to the exciting work
being taken forward by our industry, in an incredibly wide
range of sectors. The potential health benefits to our
people, and others around the world, are truly breathtaking
- and the sector can I believe make a crucial contribution
to the Executive's broader economic growth objectives.
"This strategy is about achieving critical mass and that
is hugely important at this stage in the sector's
development. We should not hide our ambition under a
bushel. I want us to get to the point where our life
sciences sector is a success story on a scale that matches
our achievement in sectors such as the financial services
and oil and gas.
"This strategy is fundamentally in line with our
refreshed Smart Successful Scotland strategy - not least in
terms of our desire to grow more Scottish companies of
scale that can ultimately become major players on the
international stage.
"We need the right people with the right skills - both
in terms of scientific excellence and management skills.
Clearly the life sciences sector cannot survive and grow
without a steady stream of new life scientists.
"Over the past 3 years, the Executive has provided
significant new investment in school science education
amounting to almost £18 million. In line with the Science
Strategy, the focus has been on up-skilling science
teachers and modernising school science laboratory
equipment.
"There are also a number of programmes, supported by the
Executive, that aim to encourage young people to choose
science at school as a stepping stone towards a future
career path.
"We need to ensure that there are attractive career
paths for scientists, which will enable them to move more
freely between academia and industry. One of the first
tasks of the new Alliance, which the strategy envisages, is
therefore to engage strongly with the Higher Education
sector and its various supporting bodies, to ensure they
are fully involved in developing new initiatives.
"This leads me neatly to the theme of collaboration. It
is at one level almost self evident - not least given the
wide range of players involved in the sector. But it is
worth reinforcing again and again because of the huge
rewards we can deliver if we really make collaboration
work
"Finally, I would like to touch specifically on the
issue of funding for life sciences companies in Scotland -
an issue raised with me by the sector on many occasions in
recent times. The Scottish Co-investment Fund has played a
crucial role in helping to stimulate and support a wide
range of early stage life science investments up to £1m.
Indeed of the 60 deals concluded to date, 20 have been in
life sciences with nearly £9million invested in those
companies. However it has been made clear through these
discussions that follow-on funding for deals at £2m and
above remains problematic, and as the Strategy indicates we
have been looking at a new investment vehicle to help
address this - and possibly other - gaps in the investment
framework.
"We are therefore pushing ahead with the development of
a new Scottish Investment Fund. I can announce that
consultation to help shape the new Fund begins
tomorrow.
"The launch of this strategy represents a landmark for
the industry, and for the life sciences sector as a whole.
We, and Scottish Enterprise, are committed to working with
you - to help you realise the sector's fantastic
potential."