Funding announced to establish Medicines Manufacturing Skills Centre of Excellence

The government has announce £5.5 million of funding to build a Centre of Excellence to keep UK medicines manufacturers at the front of the global race for skills and boost the UK's ability to respond to future health emergencies.

The centre will support building a skilled workforce with support from an agile and responsive skills system and retaining the world’s best science and technology talent.

The funding is intended to ensure the sector has the right talent to drive innovation and will build on existing infrastructure and best practice, and deliver sustainable, end-to-end training provision, all of which the industry needs to continue growing.

This £5.5 million grant funding forms part of the £650 million ‘Life Sci for Growth’ pot launched by the Chancellor in May. A competition to allocate funding, led by Innovate UK, will officially open on 26 September.

Minister of state at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, George Freeman MP said: "From breakthroughs in genomic medicine to agile new approaches and disease diagnostics, the £94 billion life science sector is central to our ambitions for the economy, as well as playing a fundamental role in our health. But it is only possible for the sector to stay at the front of an accelerating global race if they have a world-class workforce at their disposal.

"We already have a formidable skills base, and as home to four of the world’s top 10 universities, the infrastructure to keep growing it. The Medicines Manufacturing Skills Centre of Excellence will help ensure that we add to the more than 280,000 high-skilled jobs the Life Sciences sector already delivers right across the UK."

Steve Bates OBE, Chief Executive Officer of the UK BioIndustry Association said: "Growing UK medicines manufacturing will allow us to capture the greatest economic benefit from our world-leading life sciences research and development ecosystem, creating well-paid jobs and export revenues that power the economy. The diverse geographic footprint of specialised medicines manufacturing facilities means the sector delivers high-quality, rewarding jobs across the UK.

"This significant investment in a centre of excellence to attract, retain and develop talent throughout the UK will enhance Britain’s standing as the best location globally for innovative medicines manufacturing."

Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay