Science organisations collaborate to create North East bioscience hub

A new bioscience hub is set to be created in the North East as a collaboration between three organisations is announced.

CPI, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies and Teesside University are partnering to create the Northern Bio-Accelerator Partnership (NBioP), which aims to accelerate the bioscience sector in the Tees Valley region.

The new collaboration will create a bioprocessing, biomanufacturing and biopharmaceutical hub in the region.

Based at Darlington’s Central Park, the hub is expected to attract investment and skills from across the North East and beyond.

Frank Millar, CEO at CPI, commented: “The North East has a thriving biosciences sector that is globally competitive, vibrant and viable.

“This collaboration will enable us to draw on the best of research, workforce development, innovation and manufacturing to enable companies to develop, prove, scale up and manufacture new products that will improve the quality of life of people around the world.”

Dr Mark Douglas, vice president at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, said: “We are very pleased to be a partner in this exciting collaboration and look forward to developing innovative new technologies here in Teesside, to address biopharmaceutical manufacturing challenges at a global level.”

Dr Jen Vanderhoven, director of the National Horizons Centre at Teesside University, added: “This new collaboration will build on the strong industrial heritage, and burgeoning Tees Valley life sciences sector to enable staff, students and industry partners to work together.

“Drawing upon each other’s expertise and experiences, we will catalyse economic growth in the North East through the creation of jobs, the training of a highly skilled workforce and the driving of the nationally leading biosciences research and development.”