The Welsh Government is allocating up to £500,000 to support the Technology Strategy Board’s funding competition for R&D projects designed to advance regenerative medicine and cell therapies.
Economy Minister Edwina Hart said Welsh Government funding would support projects that have the potential to have a positive impact on the Welsh economy and enable more Welsh organisations to leverage funding from the Technology Strategy Board, the UK’s innovation agency.
In total up to £8m is being invested in single-company and collaborative R&D projects to advance the industry by addressing sector specific challenges relating to preparing novel treatments for use.
The competition focuses on the preclinical testing, clinical development and manufacture of regenerative medicines and cell therapies and the development of associated underpinning tools and technologies.
The competition opens for applicants on June 2 with the deadline for expressions of interest at midday on July 16.
Addressing a GE Healthcare event in the Senedd today the Minister told guests:” Life sciences is one of our priority economic sectors and regenerative medicine is fast becoming an emerging area for Wales thanks to the presence of some world class researchers.
“I am pleased to support the Technology Strategy Board competition and anticipate some high calibre applications to this call which will build on existing strengths within this field in Wales. It will also assist universities and industry to work together to get ideas closer to commercialisation.”
The Minister added that it would also complement the Welsh Government’s commitment to the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre. The development of this Centre of Excellence in wound prevention and treatment adds to Wales’s strengths in the area of regenerative medicine and will, she said, deliver health and wealth benefits for people in Wales.
The Minister paid tribute to GE Healthcare’s commitment to bioscience development in Wales and the world class reputation of its strategically important Cardiff site.
Mrs Hart concluded by saying: “GE Healthcare has continued to invest in Wales including a recent £3m investment in a cell technology laboratory and the upgrade of its forensics laboratory which will ensure it is well positioned for long term growth.
“The company’s strategic importance to the Welsh economy and to the lifesciences sector is recognised by its Anchor Company status and I am very pleased it is also one of the first members of the Life Sciences Hub.”
The audience heard from internationally renowned scientists from GE on how the Cardiff site can be developed further and how the company can support the wider life sciences industry as a priority sector of the Welsh economy.
Guests had the opportunity to see and discuss a number of technologies being developed by GE Healthcare in Wales, including tools for cell therapy manufacturing, an automated rapid DNA analysis system that generates a DNA fingerprint in under 90 minutes, and stem-cell-based technology for drug toxicity testing.
