A leading academic and former Edinburgh BioQuarter business development executive is to head up BioCity Scotland.
Dr Diane Harbison has been appointed as maanaging director of the pharmaceutical incubator unit as it moves into its next phase of growth.
The Lanarkshire-based centre – which is joibntly owned by BioCity Nottingham and the Roslin BioCentre – opened its doors in early 2012 and has since become a hub for biotech entrepreneurs and the commercialisation of life sciences research.
The site has strong links to the biotech cluster in Tayside and houses the Innovative Medicines Initiative funded European Lead Factory (ELF), which is jointly operated by BioAscent Discovery and Dundee University.
The European Screeening Centre, Newhouse, is part of ELF and is staffed by scientists from Dundee University who provide biological data, medicinal chemistry, informatics analysis and modelling to Lead Factory projects.
Dr Harbison, a former senior Pfizer executive who established two GSK academia partnerships with Edinburgh University during her time at the BioQuarter, said she was execited about her new role and the opportunity it provided to drive forward drug discovery in Scotland.
She said it was an exciting time for the sector north of the border as new cash became available for the establishment of a new MediCity Scotland base.
“The funding will create a new med-tech incubator on the Newhouse site, providing a stimulating and supportive business creation environment for Medtech innovation,” Dr Harbison said.
“It complements our MediCity site in Nottingham and enhances what we can already offer prospective tenant companies.
“BioCity Scotland has already achieved 50% occupancy on site, which is ahead of what was predicted in our strategic plans.
“We have a strong pipeline of new and growing life sciences companies considering locating to Newhouse.
“Many of the companies already located at BioCity Scotland have attracted additional investment and are expanding rapidly. It is an exciting time to be joining the BioCity team.
“Businesses which choose to locate within MediCity Scotland will benefit from BioCity’s experience of growing successful life science businesses in its specialised incubator environments and have access to expertise in the global healthcare market through the BioCity family of companies.”
Dr Glenn Crocker, chief executive of BioCity, said: “Diane’s appointment marks an important next step in the evolution of BioCity in Scotland and enables us to further strengthen the way we work with early stage companies in the drug discovery industry.
“She brings a wealth of experience and an extensive network of connections, all of which will help to make companies based at BioCity even more successful.”