Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund Announced

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology announced the first phase of successful companies to receive £277 million of joint government and private sector investment through the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF).

Aimed at supporting long term health resilience in the UK, the initial LSIMF grants will benefit four life sciences companies:

Ipsen

• £75 million investment to grow the manufacture of innovative medicines for neurological conditions. At their Wrexham facility, 39 new jobs will be created and a further 37 safeguarded.

Pharmaron

• £151 million investment in capital and people will substantially grow operations in Liverpool. This will increase production capacity for critical gene therapy and vaccine components four-fold. There will be 174 new jobs created and 156 safeguarded.

Touchlight

• £14 million investment will create 17 jobs and protect a further 6, boosting UK health resilience by establishing the commercial scale manufacture of DNA at their Hampton base in London.

Randox

• £36 million investment to modernise the manufacture of antibodies used across diagnostic tests. A new facility in Crumlin, Northern Ireland, will create 90 new jobs.