Liverpool gets £25m life sciences boost

Liverpool has cemented its future as a life sciences hub with the announcement that a new £25m laboratory development is coming to the city, as the first stage of a wider plan that will potentially bring up to 5,000 jobs.

The multi-million pound Liverpool Life Sciences Accelerator, which will enable new research into antibiotic resistance, will co-locate the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust and a number of sector-relevant SMEs.

The Chrysalis Fund, which supports commercial regeneration in the Liverpool City Region, has committed a £11.5m loan for the development of the 70,000 sq ft centre.

LSTM’s director, Prof. Janet Hemingway CBE, said: “LSTM was one of the first institutions in the world to recognise the importance of studying and understanding the phenomenon of drug resistance.

“With a proven track record of industry partnership and ground breaking, lifesaving research, the Accelerator will allow us to further boost Liverpool’s reputation as a world renowned centre of expertise.”

She added: “The collaboration with the Royal and SMEs will benefit global health by taking research and innovation from the lab to where it is needed most and will encourage further investment in Liverpool.”

The five-storey centre will be located on Daulby Street, on the grounds of the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

Two of its floors will used as commercial laboratories and office facilities for SMEs working on products to improve treatment outcomes and patient care, while two other floors will be used by LSTM in its work against the global threat of antibiotic resistance.

John Tatham, a fund manager at the Chrysalis Fund, commented: “This investment marks an important landmark for the fund. It demonstrates our ability to invest in projects that drive forward the city’s key strategic priorities of creating and retaining high value jobs and delivering economic growth.

“We’re delighted to be able to provide the loan for this development which will further bolster Liverpool’s reputation as a centre for global excellence in life sciences which represents a £1.7bn economy.”

The director of strategy and transformation at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, Helen Jackson, said she believes the centre will provide an environment for academics, clinicians and other industry players to create new life-saving treatments.

She explained: “This building is the first stage in a far-reaching development strategy that will define Liverpool’s future economy as a world leader in life sciences and boost regeneration of the Knowledge Quarter area of the city.

“The Accelerator is the first development in the creation of a city centre health campus that will be built on the site of the existing Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

Helen continued: “This Liverpool Health Campus will consist of 200,000 sq m of space, attracting life sciences, biomedical research companies and health organisations.

“This will generate 5,000 high value jobs and help the city develop a thriving life science economy.”

Construction work is due to start this month, with the Life Sciences Accelerator expected to open in June 2017.