Taking Bioscience into the new millennium by David Best

Introduction | Key to Success | Progress

'Cambridge has the largest biotechnology cluster in Europe, but in the past has had surprisingly limited facilities for budding biotech entrepreneurs. All of that is to change with the opening of the Bioscience Innovation Centre - Europe's first fully-mentored biotechnology business incubator.

Although the UK lags far behind the US, with its 900 'business incubators', the incubator-trend is catching on. In Cambridge, Walter Herriot was recently crowned with an OBE, for his success at the St. John's Innovation Centre, which provides offices and general management advice for young technology businesses.

Despite the quality of the facilities and the 90% success rate amongst the companies housed there, St. John's has lacked the wet laboratory space and specialised mentoring skills young biotechnology businesses require.

The growing need for a biotech space was identified by the MMI Group, a successful international technology management business already established at St John's. MMI focuses on the biomedical field, and advises universities, blue-chip pharmaceutical companies and emerging biotech businesses around the world.

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