The biomedical industry – highlighted as a growth sector in the West Midlands – has been given a £143,000 funding boost.
The University of Warwick Science Park has created a new Biomedical Futures facility after being given funding by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.
It will help start-up and early-stage companies that require laboratory space to benefit from a capital investment in facilities that they normally would not be able to fund until they could demonstrate proof of concept.
Biomedical Futures offers six individual offices and six laboratories with shared access to a range of laboratory support equipment and kitchen facilities.
Also, being based at the science park, companies have access to business support services and mentors from the Science Parks Ignite programme.
David Grindrod, deputy director of the University of Warwick Science Park, said it was important to recognise that biomedical companies require more investment at start-up than virtually any other sector.
He said: “The idea behind Biomedical Futures is to provide the appropriate space and infrastructure for these companies at a cost that does not constrain their development.
“After three years the successful businesses will have demonstrated ‘proof of concept’ with their product and be able to attract normal first round funding to support the company’s next growth stage.
“It is absolutely vital that we support companies in this field because this sector will be key to the UK economy in its economic recovery and well beyond.
“The whole ethos behind the University of Warwick Science Park is to help business people get innovative ideas to market or assist high-tech companies in their growth. This is an extension of that.”
