Today, Yorkshire’s legacy lives on, in large part due to its thriving reputation as a regional hub for bioscience.
Home to world-leading organisations spanning the sector from agri-tech to pharmaceuticals, Yorkshire is at the forefront of innovation, research and discovery.
Many of these bioscience businesses including Abingdon Health, Cargill and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), are based at York Biotech Campus (YBC), the pioneering science park nestled a few miles outside of York city centre at Sand Hutton.
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To celebrate Yorkshire Day (today), some of its some of the foremost organisations and key figures in the sector explained why the region stands out as a top hub for bioscience.
Charis Child, Commercial Manager at Abingdon Health said: “As a business which specialises in the development, optimisation, manufacture, and distribution of lateral flow tests for global use, location is incredibly important. We take pride in being a Yorkshire business, with our head office based at YBC, so it means we’re in the ideal location to work with clients from across the UK.
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“This puts us in a great position to develop and bring lateral flow products to market, as we’re within a couple of hours’ travel to key areas such as London, Scotland and Manchester, opening doors for worldwide CDMO partnerships and product distribution.”
Nicola Spence, UK’s Chief Plant Health Officer at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “Yorkshire is a fantastic place to work, as it has such a dynamic bioscience community. We have great universities, many of which are leading in the country for courses relating to the sector, which means as a bioscience organisation you always have a strong pool of talent to draw upon.
“They also offer a range of opportunities for collaboration, ultimately helping us lead the way in research and innovation through utilising each other’s facilities, knowledge and skills.
“Community and a willingness to support each other is a major positive to Yorkshire as a region. We’re friendly, sociable and good at working together, which is key to growth and success in bioscience.”
Liz Cashon, Estates Manager at York Biotech Campus said: “It’s exciting that Yorkshire has access to exceptional, world-leading facilities both at bases like YBC and at other institutions and organisations across the region. There are so many places for start-ups and established businesses alike to share workspaces, collaborate and take advantage of specialised laboratories. At YBC we’re regularly refurbishing and retrofitting our lab and office spaces to provide new solutions for our occupiers and help their workspaces expand as their businesses grow.
“Invest in York and North Yorkshire’s commitment to attract more business investment in agritech and industrial biotechnology has also bolstered the region’s growth in the sector, and it’s only going to keep getting better. We’re optimistic about the future and looking forward to the continued growth of the national bioscience industry, and Yorkshire’s position as a rural powerhouse.”
David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire added: “I’ve seen the innovative work taking place at YBC and I know there are similar organisations in the region driving excellence in industrial biotech and agritech through research and collaboration.
“These sectors offer the region significant growth and innovation potential and are leading sectors for our inward investment strategy. Growth in these industries will play a big part in helping York and North Yorkshire reach its full potential, create new and higher paid jobs within the region and position our region as a leading contributor to national ambitions for green growth.”
For more information about York Biotech Campus, go to: https://yorkbiotechcampus.com/
