29 Nov 2007
Scottish science and innovation remains up there with the best the world has to offer, was the message today from UK Government ministers visiting three thriving research centres in Edinburgh and West Lothian.
UK Science and Innovation minister Ian Pearson and Scotland Office minister David Cairns visited the Roslin Institute, the School of Life Sciences at Heriot Watt University, and drug delivery specialists Encap to underline the Government's recognition of Scotland's contribution to the UK's research base, and its commitment to supporting innovation in Scotland.
Ian Pearson said:
"My overwhelming impression was that Scotland continues to be a world leader in applying innovative research and thinking to solving some of the world's pressing problems.
"Whether it is working on a new BSE test for live animals, increasing our understanding of threatened tropical marine ecosystems or new ways to deliver drugs to fight disease, Scottish institutions are getting results by using a combination of innovative research, international collaboration and close ties with industry."
Whilst at Heriot Watt the ministerial team were introduced to the work of the Darwin Initiative - a UK Government-funded small grants programme that has provided £60m for 464 projects in more than 100 countries since 1992, and is currently making vital contributions to the understanding and protection of fragile tropical marine ecosystems in Panama.
The team then visited Encap in Livingston, which specialises in developing sophisticated drug encapsulation technology for use by pharmaceutical companies, and which has recently announced plans for expansion into a £3 million state-of-the-art pharmaceutical development and manufacturing facility.
David Cairns added:
"The work of the team at the Roslin Institute needs no introduction but Roslin is only the tip of the iceberg. Everything we've seen today reinforces the impression that there is research going on all over Scotland that sits comfortably in the very best traditions of Scottish innovation down the centuries, from the steam engine, telephone and television along an unbroken thread down to Dolly the sheep.
"The Government will do everything possible to support research and development and to ensure that hi-tech growth continues - whether that is through BBSRC funding of Roslin, DEFRA funding of the Darwin Initiative, or more generally by working to provide UK-wide frameworks such as the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships that encourage vital cross-fertilisation between the worlds of research and industry."
Notes for Editors
1. Roslin Institute is one of seven research institutes in the UK sponsored by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). BBSRC institutes are expected to fulfil a role in the UK Science base that is distinct from that of a university department. Roslin Institute makes a major contribution to each of the three main themes in the BBSRC Institutes Science and Innovation Strategy (sustainable agriculture and land use, animal health and welfare and human health and well being).
Roslin Institute has about 250 staff, students and visiting scientists who work in a wide range of disciplines including molecular and cell biology, quantitative genetics, developmental biology, bioinformatics, comparative and functional genomics. biological characteristics of cells, animals and populations
2. Heriot Watt University's School of Life Sciences is unique in providing research and education across disciplines ranging from food science to psychology in an integrated and multidisciplinary fashion. It started over 100 years ago offering specialist courses to the brewing industry that flourished in Edinburgh at that time. This expanded into biochemistry, food science, microbiology and marine biology and more recently has added exercise science and applied psychology.
The Darwin Initiative is a small grants programme that aims to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of resources around the world. The Initiative is funded and administered by the UK
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (Defra).
The Darwin Initiative aims to assist developing countries meet their obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity through funding collaborative projects which draws on UK expertise. Projects have strong elements of research; training; capacity building; and activities which raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity; and help people secure benefits from its sustainable use.
3. Encap is an international drug delivery company that develops innovative drug delivery solutions using its platform of proprietary technologies. Since its foundation in 1989, Encap has evolved into a global player in the development and application of both traditional and novel drug encapsulation technologies that are supported bymodern and commercial scale manufacturing facilities.
Encap currently employs around 45 staff in Livingston and recently announced it has signed an agreement with Thermal Transfer Limited (TTL) to build a £3 million state-of-the-art pharmaceutical development and manufacturing facility in the town.
Media contacts:
Nathaniel Mumford (Scotland Office)
0207 270 6875 / 07771 938878
Rhys Stacker (DIUS)
0207 215 6214