Six new Life Science Opportunity Zones

The UK’s Life Sciences Industrial Strategy Update, published last month, renews the focus on a business environment that promotes effective scaling of innovative businesses. Part of that picture is support for local R&D and innovation clusters. Following a bidding process, the Office for Life Sciences has announced six new Life Science Opportunity Zones (LSOZ).

The new LSOZ add to an existing zone established in 2016 at Charnwood in Leicestershire. They are:

• Stevenage Advanced Therapies Campus, Hertfordshire
• Birmingham Life Sciences Park, West Midlands
• Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridgeshire
• Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Oxfordshire
• Porton Science Park, Wiltshire
• Discovery Park, Sandwich, Kent.

The newly designated zones will build on existing biomedical locations offering both state of the art facilities and a local pool of talent. They will receive Government promotion and support, and assistance in attracting inward investment. We are delighted to see these science parks receiving well-deserved recognition and support, although there are, of course, quite a few others that offer a similar level of opportunity for growing businesses in the sector.

The Office for Life Sciences has also announced a £10m Innovation Scholars Scheme. This will support post-doctoral secondments at biomedical companies to strengthen collaboration between industry and research.