University of Swansea launches £50m life sciences centre

The launch of a £50m specialist life sciences research centre at the University of Swansea was announced yesterday.

The university hopes to emulate Cambridge's success in establishing a community for supporting technology start-ups.

The project, which will include investment from both the public and private sector, will create a medical school that doesn't just produce doctors, but also world-class research.

Andrew Davies, minister for economic development and transport for the Welsh Assembly Government, says the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) will represent a 'quantum leap' in the development of Wales' knowledge economy.

'The facility will be home to internationally acclaimed scientists, working at the intersections of bio and nanotechnology, deep computing and informatics.'

'In addition, the ILS will provide dedicated incubator support for micro-companies, translating knowledge into commercial opportunities, enhancing our culture of entrepreneurship and innovation,' he said.

The project is expected to create 238 specialist jobs and about 30 new spinout companies, as well as increasing spending on R&D and science training by about £70m during the first five years of operation.

'The Institute of Life Science will also be a powerful force for economic regeneration,' said University of Swansea vice chancellor professor Richard Davies.

'We are planning no less than a Cambridge-type effect with the academic research and development spinning out new high tech companies and also attracting inward investment from companies elsewhere in the world.'

'North American experience shows that the life sciences are the most promising area for university-driven economic regeneration. However, this experience also shows that a large University R&D base is essential to generate economic impact in the development of new industrial clusters,' he said.

The centre is working closely with technology vendor IBM, with the intention of both organisation's scientists collaborating on research projects, such as new medical visualisation technologies.

The ILS will host one of the most powerful supercomputers in the UK, dedicated to medical research in diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardiac ailments.

'Blue C', the tennis court-sized IBM supercomputer, will deliver up to 2.7 teraflops of performance for researchers.

Work on the ILS will begin in Spring, with a projected timeline of 18 months.