A laboratory building at Newcastle’s Helix development has become the second to reach capacity.
The Biosphere - a laboratory and office building dedicated to life science research, development, and commercialisation - opened three years ago, and is now home to more than 20 businesses that are working on solutions for some of society’s most pressing global challenges, such as Covid-19, cancer, and climate change.
Companies that have set up there include Iksuda Therapeutics, AMLo Biosciences, CellRev, Atelerix, LightOx and Newcells Biotech. They have raised more than £50m of investment between them over the last 18 months to expand their operations, helping to create more than 100 jobs.
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Coun Alex Hay, cabinet member for a resilient city at Newcastle City Council said: “This project has created much needed jobs, is supporting graduate retention and has helped to secure Newcastle’s position as a leader in life sciences and innovation.
“Our city is a place to innovate, grow and improve lives. We are not only proud of business growth, demand, and the highly skilled jobs this building has created, but the cluster of talent that is helping people across the world live healthier lives for years to come.
“Due to the success of The Biosphere a private investor is currently being sought to facilitate further growth within life sciences.”
Becky Crow, senior inward investment Manager for Life Sciences at NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) said: “The UK’s Life Science sector is growing at pace and there is a strong pipeline of businesses wanting to expand and locate themselves in our city. This demand means securing a private sector investment will be critical to the sector’s future. We all share the same ambition, to accelerate innovation, catalyse growth and to continue to position Newcastle as internationally renowned cluster.
“The Biosphere is a hub for high growth forward thinking SMEs who are at the forefront of global innovation, leveraging research and development and support from our world-leading universities and outstanding NHS Trust. Newcastle offers health professionals and investors the opportunity to live a balanced life and to build a career in global scientific innovation and invention. It’s such an exciting time for the sector and we look forward to the next stage of The Biosphere journey.”
The success at Biosphere comes just a few weeks after it was announced the Catalyst innovation centre at Helix is also full, after attracting tenants from a range of leading edge sectors.
