A £5.5m medicines manufacturing skills centre of excellence will boost the UK’s capacity to respond to future health emergencies, the government has announced.
The facility will add to the existing infrastructure and best practice in the life sciences sector, ultimately delivering sustainable, end-to-end training to keep the industry growing.
The £5.5m investment will come as part of the £650m pledged by chancellor Jeremy Hunt earlier this year. The funding will be awarded by Innovate UK via a competition which will officially open on 26 September.
According to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the centre of excellence will help:
- Build a skilled workforce
- Retain the best and most promising science and technology talent
The BioIndustry Association’s chief executive, Steve Bates OBE, said: “This significant investment in a centre of excellence to attract, retain and develop talent throughout the UK will enhance Britain’s standing as the best location globally for innovative medicines manufacturing.”
Science minister, George Freeman MP, added: “We already have a formidable skills base, and as home to four of the world’s top 10 universities, the infrastructure to keep growing it.”
He continued: “The Medicines Manufacturing Skills Centre of Excellence will help ensure that we add to the more than 280,000 high-skilled jobs the Life Sciences sector already delivers right across the UK.”
Image credit: iStock
