Thirty global healthcare firms have expressed interest in investing in Birmingham’s push to become a leading force in the life sciences sector.
Speaking at the launch of , Birmingham City Council leader Sir Albert Bore said inward investment body Marketing Birmingham had been inundated with interest.
The city is investing tens of millions of pounds in the sector – with the £6.8 million hub offering incubation for fledgling firms, through to the life sciences campus on Battery Park in Selly Oak, where larger employers will have space to grow.
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The West Midlands has over 500 medical technology companies, more than any other 海角视频 region, but Sir Albert said in a global marketplace it was vital to think ahead.
He said: “In today’s marketplace it is insufficient to simply think that jobs will come to Birmingham.
“We have to be proactive and plan to our strengths and understand the opportunities of tomorrow.
“Ultimately, the objective is to create a long-term and sustainable jobs in what is undoubtedly a high-value sector.
Sir Albert Bore said Marketing Birmingham was currently working with 30 partners about life sciences investment in the city.
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The sector contributes £180 million to the region’s economy but is one of the principal growth areas targeted by city leaders.
Professor David Eastwood vice-chancellor of the University of Birmingham said the £24 million Institute for Translational Medicine, between the university and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, was another vital part of plans.
That move would make the city internationally competitive in terms of early phase clinical trials, and feed into wider growth taking advantage of strength in the public and private healthcare sectors.
He said the university was already working with 20 fledgling life sciences firms to help them grow.
He added: “We are celebrating something that has been quite long in gestation but is absolutely fundamental to the future of our city.
“With that facility near these facilities here and the life sciences campus on the Battery Park what we have here is unique in the 海角视频.
“There is a hospital without peer, the second-largest medical school in the country, the space to incubate and innovate and the Battery Park to expand into.”
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The new biomedical hub will offer laboratory and office space for growing life sciences businesses. Once built it is expected to create 100 jobs and a further 500 in the supply chain.
James Wilkie, director of research and innovation services at the university, said the city was world class in life sciences, and the hub was long overdue.
In fact he said plans for a bio business incubator were first mooted as long ago as 1986.
He added: “If you said to me what does success look like in five years, I would say if there is a life sciences entrepreneur around the West Midlands and they asked ‘where should I start my business?’ the answer would be Birmingham Research Park.”