Edinburgh BioQuarter is an initiative in the development of Scotland's

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, ...

industry, which, , employs more than 39,000 people in over 750 organisations. A community of 8,000 people currently work and study within the boundary of BioQuarter, located on the south side of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland’s capital city, approximately three miles from the city centre.

Partnership

BioQuarter is a partnership with the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...

NHS Lothian NHS Lothian is one of the 14 regions of NHS Scotland. It provides healthcare services in the City of Edinburgh (council area), City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian council areas. Its headquarters are at Mainpoint 102 West ...

Scottish Enterprise Scottish Enterprise () is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, Business, enterprise, innovation, international and investment agency, investment in business. The body covers the eastern ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. The site has the

’s medical research institutes. Its 160-acre site includes the

University of Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the University of Edinburgh College of Medicine and Veterinar ...

, the

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Com ...

, the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and the Department of Clinical Neurosciences. In total, there has been a £600 million investment in capital developments. BioQuarter has generated an estimated £2.72 billion in

gross value added In economics, gross value added (GVA) is the measure of the value of goods and service (economics), services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy. "The ''gross value added'' is the Value of output (economy), value of output minus t ...

from its research, clinical and commercial activities, and a further £320 million from its development.

History

In 1997, the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

obtained planning permission for land in the

Little France Little France is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is on the A7, approximately south of the city centre. The area falls within the parish of Liberton in the south-east of the city. It acquired its name from members of the e ...

area of Edinburgh for a new

, and it was procured under a

Private Finance Initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 ...

contract in 1998. This allowed the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh’s Medical School to relocate from their historic sites in Edinburgh city centre. In 2002,

opened the new

. At the same time, the University of Edinburgh completed its first phase of relocation of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine with the move of medical teaching and research to the adjacent Chancellor’s Building. In 2004,

Scotland’s economic development agency, acquired the surrounding land. In 2007, following the completion of a series of land deals that cleared a 55-acre site adjacent to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, they launched the Edinburgh BioQuarter. In August 2010, British author J.K. Rowling endowed research at BioQuarter with a £10 million gift to create the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic in memory of her mother, who died in 1990 from complications related to

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

. The clinic was officially opened in October 2013. The first commercial facility on BioQuarter, the NINE – Life Sciences Innovation Centre, was established in 2012 to house burgeoning spinouts and startup life sciences companies; this was joined in 2016 by commercial modular facilities in the form of BioCube 1 and BioCube 2.

Developments

In 2035, BioQuarter was planned to be a "Health Innovation District". It also has plans to expand the city’s tram network to BioQuarter by 2030. The pipeline of academic and clinical developments includes the Usher Institute (due to open in 2024), the co-location of Biomedical and Medical Teaching and NHS Lothian’s Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion.

Response to COVID-19

In 2022, a multi-million-pound research programme to develop treatments for lung infections such as COVID-19 and future pandemics was announced.

Companies

Companies based on Edinburgh BioQuarter include: * RoslinCT – GMP contract manufacturing and development organisation (CMDO), originally founded as Roslin Cells in 2006. * Fios Genomics – genomic and

bioinformatics Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field of science that develops methods and Bioinformatics software, software tools for understanding biological data, especially when the data sets are large and complex. Bioinformatics uses biology, ...

data analysis services for

drug discovery In the fields of medicine, biotechnology, and pharmacology, drug discovery is the process by which new candidate medications are discovered. Historically, drugs were discovered by identifying the active ingredient from traditional remedies or ...

& development. * Concept Life Sciences – pre-clinical Contract Research Organisation (CRO) and acquired by Concept Life Sciences, a

Malvern Panalytical Malvern Panalytical is a Spectris plc company. The company is a manufacturer and supplier of laboratory analytical instruments. It has been influential in the development of the Malvern Correlator, and it remains notable for its work in the a ...

brand, in 2020. * Calcivis – dentistry imaging system. * Edinburgh Molecular Imaging – clinical-phase

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

company. * Galecto, Inc. –

biotech Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists in the field are kn ...

company developing small molecules. * LifeArc – UK-registered and self-funding charity on diagnostics and therapies. * Resolution Therapeutics – developing

macrophage Macrophages (; abbreviated MPhi, φ, MΦ or MP) are a type of white blood cell of the innate immune system that engulf and digest pathogens, such as cancer cells, microbes, cellular debris and foreign substances, which do not have proteins that ...

cell therapies.

References