A MULTI-MILLION investment to build a medical innovation centre in Renfrewshire is set to help the UK capture a bigger slice of the lucrative pharmaceutical market.
Hailed as a world-first, the £56 million Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC) aims to revolutionise how medicines are manufactured and give the UK a larger share of the £98 billion small molecule pharmaceuticals market.
But the decision to locate the centre in Renfrewshire has led to a furious backlash from the leader of North Ayrshire Council, Councillor Joe Cullinane, who said compelling socio-economic reasons were overlooked in choosing Inchinnan over Irvine.
MMIC is supported by Scottish Enterprise which is investing £15 million, UK Research and Innovation, through Innovate UK, with a £13m investment and GSK and AstraZeneca, which are putting in £7m each. It is one of the early projects to receive funding from the UK’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
The centre will be positioned next to the £65m National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland (NMIS) in the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District.
It aims to attract more £80m of R&D investment by 2028 and will create 80 high value jobs directly by 2023. Up to 90 jobs will also be created or retained in companies involved in the design and build phase and post-construction.
MMIC offer pharma companies, from start-ups to multinationals, a service to develop and adopt novel manufacturing techniques to adapt into their own manufacturing processes and address the challenge of bringing new medicines to market quickly and safely.
Scottish Government Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, Paul Wheelhouse, said: “I am delighted that the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC) will be located in Scotland, given its potential to become a global centre of excellence and bringing significant benefits to Scotland’s economy.”
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