Biotechnology
South West England's universities, companies and institutes remain at the forefront of global research and are often recognised leaders within their own specialist field. The main clusters where these South West players are located are in:
- Bristol/Bath
- Porton Down
- Exeter/Plymouth
- A developing "mini-hub" in Cornwall
These clusters are rapidly growing supported by pro-active university knowledge-transfer initiatives and increasing inter-business collaboration.
South West biotech companies reflect the overall strengths of the UK bio-industry which are:
- Biomed/biopharma,
- Diagnostics,
- Agrifood & environmental biotech,
- Specialist reagents and instrumentation (manufacturing & support).
The South West Biotechnology Sector includes:
- 40-50 companies undertaking core R&D
- 90-100 companies supporting the sector
- 10-15 developing companies (Year 1-2) all of whom strengthen the South West lead in existing disciplines.
Higher Education Expertise
The South West is undoubtedly a world-class centre for academic and applied research into biotechnology and allied subjects, specialist strengths at individual universities include:
University of Bath
Department of Biology and Biochemistry Research includes structural molecular biology, enzyme structure and function, cell biology, developmental biology, neuroscience and microbial pathogenicity, and evolution and mathematical biology.
The Centre for Extremophile Research brings together interdisciplinary expertise on extremophilic micro-organisms, and provides a platform from which the biotechnological potential of these organisms can be commercially exploited.
The Centre for Mathematical Biology is a joint enterprise with the Department of Mathematical Sciences, directing its effort on the application of mathematical modelling and simulation techniques to biological problems.
The Centre for Regenerative Medicine is being developed to be a multi-disciplinary centre encompassing existing research groups in the Departments of Biology and Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering and Pharmacy and Pharmacology.
Department of Chemistry - Research spans all sub disciplines, from theoretical physical chemistry to biological chemistry and antibody engineering.
Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology is internationally recognised as a centre for research excellence. With strengths in the pharmaceutical and biological sciences,
Centre for Biomimetics and Natural Technologies is an interdisciplinary research unit involved in developing new materials and artefacts based upon the concept of taking ideas from nature and implementing them with other technologies such as engineering, design, computing etc.
Centre for Electron Optical Studies is involved in the development of electron microscopy techniques and their application to the life sciences.
Centre for Protein Analysis and Design focuses on antibody modelling and protein folding, using leading edge research in the application of computational methods to the problem of protein folding and protein design.
University of Bristol
Centre for Synaptic Plasticity was launched in December 2002. The centre will advance the understanding of synaptic plasticity by establishing how, where and why the brain modifies synaptic strength during normal function (in particular during learning and memory), and in certain pathological states (such as in Alzheimer's disease).
Organic and Biological Chemistry is another area of expertise, with research focusing on synthetic chemistry, relating directly to pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and toxins; heterocyclic chemistry, catalytic asymmetric synthesis and preparation of isotopic ally labelled compounds for biosynthetic, metabolic and protein structural studies. The focus of Bio-organic chemistry is on the biosynthesis of polypeptide antibiotics, plant hormones and applications of enzymes to asymmetric synthesis.
Pharmacology is an important research thrust concerning the molecular nature of drug receptors and the signalling systems they use to alter cellular function. Particular studies are aimed at increasing the understanding of diseases of the central nervous system such as stroke, migraine, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, drug addiction, as well as cardiovascular disease and blood disorders.
University of Exeter
Bioinformatics Centre is one of the few facilities dedicated to the subject of Bioinformatics and is expected to make major impacts on the discovery of new drugs and genetic therapies for major diseases such as cancer.
Biocatalysis Centre is a new centre, and will investigate enzymes in four major areas, the production of very pure new drugs for the pharmaceutical industry, Biotechnological applications for other industries such as food, and waste disposal, The use of enzymes as bio-sensors, Enzymes mode of action and biotechnological applications
Molecular Genetics Laboratory is home to research groups exploring the molecular genetics of plant development and plant diseases using a combination of genetic analysis and bioinformatics to study the action of gene families during infection.
Centre for Genomics in Society - EgenIS - is a new US$4 million research centre studying societal and ethical issues related to genomics, from GM crops to human cloning.
The Peninsula Medical School is a US$64.4 million investment in the UK's first new medical school for almost 40 years and is collaboration between the universities of Exeter and Plymouth and 2 NHS Trusts.
Molecular Genetics Laboratory - will concentrate on macromolecular synthesis, energy transformations and structural biology in plants and clinical medicine. Areas of particular expertise include the integration of molecular genetic testing with clinical medicine, gene discovery, rapid throughout, large scale PCR, rapid mutation detection methods including SSCP and direct automatic sequencing.
University of Plymouth
School of Biological Sciences is strong in a range of biological subject disciplines directed at exploring the nature and fundamental cellular processes and their influence on health status of humans and other vertebrate animals. Microbiologists, virologists, immunologists, biochemists and geneticists work with other researchers in the Peninsula Medical School, Marine Biology and Ecology Research Group, the Fish and Health & Aquaculture Group, the Ecotoxicology Research Group and the Neuroscience and Behaviour Research Group.
University of the West of England
UWE has particular strengths in biomedicine, appearance and health psychology, plant sciences, sensor science, diagnostics, epidemiology, science communication, water quality and air quality management, via the Faculty of Applied Science. The university has expertise and advanced facilities for modelling genomics and sensors science are applied to advancing practice in diagnosis and treatment of disease in humans and plants. This supports the diagnostics, pharmaceutical and agri-chemical industries including SMEs in the region.
Further information is provided in the following publications:
- Biosciences in South West England (Adobe Acrobat Reader Document - 114.48kb)
- Biotechnology related research in South West England (Adobe Acrobat Reader Document - 269.16kb)
- South West England: Commercial Biodiversity (Adobe Acrobat Reader Document - 148.91kb)
- Leading the Way in R&D and the Commercialisation of Nanotechnology (Adobe Acrobat Reader Document - 242.82kb)
The South West RDA is committed to developing the biosciences sector in South West England together with Bioapproaches SW, the developing industry association and specialist bio-business support group.
A comprehensive package of support for bio-businesses and entrepreneurs in the South West region is available in the form of:
- Specialised bio-incubation facilities and science parks to encourage expansion and growth
- Accessing finance
- Mentoring and suppliers networks
- Introductions to facilitate collaborative research & partnerships with companies, universities & research centres
- Marketing support and international profiling opportunities
- Access to information, training and network activities