The new £40 million centre aimed at putting north-east biotechnology companies on the map has secured another tenant.
Opportunity North East (One) chairman Sir Ian Wood said the arrival of Novabiotics to the Foresterhill campus was a “significant addition” to the life sciences community at One BioHub.
It will provide support and infrastructure to help grow businesses, nurture commercialisation opportunities, and connect academics and health researchers to the industry.
Launch of first NovaBiotics product
Novabiotics was launched by Dr Deborah O’Neil in 2004 and the company has spent the past 20 years working to rid the world of a range of debilitating conditions.
It was in the Granite City, at Aberdeen University’s Rowett Research Institute, she started developing the clinical and commercial potential of antimicrobial technologies.
Since then the company, which has offices in Dublin and Boston, has raised more than £30.7 million in investment and grant funding.
Deborah said the move to One BioHub reflected the progress achieved by NovaBiotics on its commercialisation journey having developed its first personal care products for nail disorders which has now launched to market in the UK and the US.
She said: “With marketed personal care products already disrupting multi-billion-dollar global markets and advanced clinical stage pharma assets with the potential to significantly impact a number of serious, unmet health needs, having the right base at such a pivotal time for both companies is key.
“As a bespoke life sciences facility for businesses on the Foresterhill health campus and the physical core of the region’s bio-entrepreneurial ecosystem, One BioHub is our ideal new base and we look forward to the next chapter for the group unfolding from there.”
NovaBiotics ‘significant addition’ to One BioHub
One is on a mission to double the number of companies in the region’s life sciences cluster by 2027.
In July, Scottish Brain Sciences became the anchor tenant, basing its clinical trials centre in the hub on Aberdeen’s Foresterhill Health Campus.
It offers hot desks, co-working, laboratory, office space, fully customisable grow-on space, event and meeting space.
Sir Ian said: “NovaBiotics is a leading Aberdeen-based biotech venture and exemplifies the cluster’s entrepreneurial spirit – successfully translating research from the lab bench to products in the market.
“The company has an international profile and is a significant addition to the community in One BioHub.
“Deborah is a sector leader committed to the region’s economic diversification and growth, and I wish her and her team every success in their next stage of growth.”
Strong north-east life sciences presence
Other BioHub partners include Aberdeen University, NHS Grampian, and the Aberdeen City Region Deal.
The project secured £20m of capital funding from the UK and Scottish governments through the city region deal, a partnership between both governments, Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and One.
One has committed up to £5.6m to deliver its ambitions and Scottish Enterprise is contributing £2m.
BioHub, which opened in May last year, was built on a fixed price contract but the construction project, led by Robertson Group, suffered delays due to Covid, supply chain issues and two subcontractors going bust.
North-east life sciences firms, including the likes of Novabiotics, Elasmogen, EnteroBiotix and TauRx, employ about 2,500 people.
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