Barts Life Sciences Cluster launches with £800m backing
Three major private companies are investing up to £800m in our plans to create a world-class centre for life sciences research and innovation in Whitechapel.
The trio are joining forces with the trust to form the Barts Life Sciences Cluster and shape the redevelopment of land around The Royal London hospital.
Together we are taking a significant step towards realising our ambition to turn ground-breaking medical research into devices and drugs that improve healthcare.
Our partnership is to be formally launched during London Life Sciences Week and has been hailed by the government as an exemplar of its industrial strategy.
Lord Patrick Vallance, minister of state for science, research and innovation said: "When our £150 billion life sciences sector succeeds, the whole nation's health and wealth are better for it. That's why this sector is central to our modern Industrial Strategy, and plans to unlock economic growth across the UK.
"Through the Life Sciences Sector Plan, we have ambitious goals for making the UK Europe's leader when it comes to life sciences' sector-led investment in R&D, access to scale-up finance, and pulling in foreign direct investment. This new Cluster will make a valuable contribution to those efforts, as well as underlining Whitechapel as a key destination for business and innovation."
The centre unites NHS clinical excellence with commercial innovation, supported by academic partners, to deliver both better patient outcomes and local economic growth.
The companies are BGO, a leading international property management company; HIG Capital, an alternative investment firm with a global reach; and Lateral, a UK developer specialising in large-scale regeneration projects for life sciences.
BGO (formerly BentallGreenOak) owns most of the block south of The Royal London (apart from our own Princess Alexandra House) and plans to develop a mixture of residential, office and research space alongside public amenities.
H.I.G and Lateral own a block opposite the hospital’s ambulance entrance along Cavell St which they are looking to let commercially.
These projects are separate from the land to the west of the hospital we sold to the Department of Health and Social Care, which received planning permission last year.
However, together with the nearby buildings owned by our academic partners at Queen Mary University of London, they will form a unique campus in Whitechapel and one of the largest and most concentrated life science clusters in the UK.
Shane DeGaris, group chief executive of Barts Health, said the combination of data from a diverse patient population, clinical and academic expertise, plus a live hospital test environment, should be a magnet for innovators and investors.
He said: “The cluster brings clinicians, scientists, and researchers together with industry and entrepreneurs to accelerate medical innovation, improve health outcomes for our communities, and create jobs. It is a landmark moment for east London.”
Both Shane and Grant Bourhill, managing director of Barts Life Sciences, will speak about the potential of life sciences collaboration during London Life Sciences Week.
The Whitechapel development is expected to inject millions of pounds into the local economy and generate over 5,000 jobs while also improving the health and lifestyle of local communities.
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