800 life sciences jobs coming to city
A new molecular biology campus is to be launched in Manchester is creating as many as 800 jobs in a total investment of more than £1bn.
Business Secretary Greg Clark is announcing today that healthcare company Merck & Co and diagnostics provider Qiagen NV will set up new research facilities.
Qiagen plans to develop a genomics campus in Manchester, while Merck, known as MSD outside the US and Canada, will establish a new life-sciences research facility in the UK,supporting 950 new jobs.
The two investments are believed to have a combined investment value of more than £1bn.
Clark said other investments will follow in the £64bn life-sciences industry, one of four to strike a sector deal.
His announcement will come as he reveals a strategy to revive the UK’s flagging productivity ahead of Britain leaving the European Union.
In an interview prior to the announcement, he said: “Until we get a final agreement (on Brexit), clearly there is going to be some uncertainty
“So it seems to me that it’s especially important to cast ahead to the long term and provide as much clarity as you can about what the fundamentals of our business environment are going to be. That’s what we’re doing in the industrial strategy.
“This shows adopting a long-term strategy can have an immediate effect.
“There is a pipeline of investments that are going to be made over the weeks ahead by companies big and small in life sciences. These investments are because of the strategic commitment that we’ve made to the sector.”
The Qiagan launch will be formally announced in the coming weeks, but it includes new partnership between the and Health Innovation Manchester.
It campus will generate new skilled jobs and attract companies from across the world to the North West, while the company has confirmed it is going to expand its current operations in Manchester, with the potential to create 800 skilled jobs.
Qiagen chief executive Peer M Schatz said: “We are very excited about this partnership with Health Innovation Manchester, and the essential engagement of the University of Manchester, the NHS Trust and the UK Government.
“Our success together can advance science and improve the lives of patients in the local region as well as worldwide.”
