Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst opens for business
23 February 2012
Focused on early-stage drug discovery and development, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is a unique and collaborative environment for companies large and small. The independent facility was formed as a joint venture between the UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the Wellcome Trust, the East of England Development Agency and the Technology Strategy Board.
The first tenants to move into the Incubator building are the Translational and Medical Sciences Consultancy division of Aptiv Solutions, a company providing drug and medical device development services with an expertise in adaptive clinical trial design, simulation and execution.
For Aptiv Solutions, the move is a unique opportunity to participate in the open innovation ethos of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst while benefiting from the state-of-the-art facilities and environment available to tenants.
Pat Donnelly, CEO and Chairman of Aptiv Solutions, said: "We recognise that innovation is central to the success of drug development in addressing unmet medical need. In joining the vision created by SBC to tackle the challenges the biopharmaceutical industry faces by driving new approaches in drug discovery and development, we offer our congratulations to the founders of SBC in their initiative to create a unique knowledge hub for scientific innovation. We are excited about the possibilities that facility and the evolving community will generate."
Commenting on the year ahead, Dr Martino Picardo, CEO of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, said: "Everyone in the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst team is delighted that we are open for business and many thanks are due to everyone associated with the delivery of the facility. We are really pleased that our first occupant is a company of Aptiv's quality and are very encouraged by the discussions we are having with other potential tenants."
Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst will also host various conferences and events focused on the rejuvenation of the UK biosciences sector, including the Praxis/Unico conference 'Young and Emerging Healthcare Companies - Delivering the Future' on 1 March. For more details, please visit the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst website.
Image: The newly opened Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst facility. Credit: Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst.
