Future looks healthy for the Northwest's Biomedical sector

The Northwest's biomedical sector is world-renowned and boasts £5bn in annual sales.

Not only is it Europe's biggest bio-manufacturing region, but it is also one of a handful of globally recognised bioscience communities.

In total, the Northwest has around 200 biomedical companies operating across the biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and healthcare industries.

They are involved in a broad range of life science disciplines including drug development, research diagnostics, medical devices and healthcare products.

These businesses are responsible for employing 22,000 staff across the region.

Among the companies based here are six multinational pharmaceutical firms - namely AstraZeneca, GSK, Sanofi Aventis, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Novartis.

What's more, official figures show that in 2008 the Northwest exported £3.8bn of pharmaceutical products – making it the UK's best performing region.

An organisation named Bionow - which is backed by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) - has been representing the interests of companies operating in the biomedical sector since it was founded in 2000.

It states that the region's biomedical businesses range from those specialising in bio-manufacturing and bio-processing to the treatment of cancer and clinical genetics to tissue banks and genomics.

Additionally, there are firms specialising in: healthcare products; instrumentation; tissue engineering and regenerative medicine; as well as vaccines.

Despite the economic storm, which has hit so many manufacturing sectors, it is the diversity of the biomedical sector - and the essential nature of its work - which means that it continues to flourish.

Industry excellence

Some of the industry's biggest healthcare companies manufacture and export their products from the region.

For example, Novartis has become the UK's leading producer of flu vaccines for the global market from its manufacturing complex in Speke, in Liverpool.

John Sullivan, site head of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, said: "Our Liverpool facility is one of the world's largest producers of flu vaccines and our ongoing investment is testimony to the expertise we have assembled here.

"Undoubtedly, the region's quality of life helps us retain these skills, but just as important, we find that the Northwest’s international reputation as a centre for bio-manufacturing excellence helps us recruit additional talent from other parts of the UK and beyond."

Also in Speke, MedImmune produces the only attenuated live flu vaccine for worldwide distribution.

And US pharmaceuticals giant Eli Lilly manufactures a range of biologics - including human growth hormone - from the largest biologics facility in the UK in Speke.

Bristol-Myers Squibb's Pharmaceutical Research Institute in Wirral is the company's key clinical research and development facility for its UK and European activities.

AstraZeneca employs 4,500 staff on its 400-acre complex at Alderley Park, in Cheshire, which is home to some of the world’s most distinguished biomedical teams.

A company spokesman told ThisIsManufacturing: "AstraZeneca has a very strong research and development and manufacturing presence in England's Northwest.

"Alderley Park, near Macclesfield, is our largest research and development facility globally as well as being an important centre for operations, international sales and marketing, product strategy development and pharmaceutical licensing.

"It is also our second largest manufacturing and supply site worldwide, supplying products for all of our therapy areas.

"These combined facilities generate around £2 billion of gross value added (GVA) in the region, directly employing around 6,000 and indirectly supporting around a further 3,600 jobs."

Innovation through education

Some of the Northwest's universities have world-leading research facilities , which are intrinsically linked to the biomedical sector.

For example, the £35m Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is run in partnership between the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Manchester.

The centre is one of 12 BRCs across the UK which the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) - which partially funded it - has stated will: "drive forward the translation of excellent basic science into world leading therapeutics, diagnostics and treatments; supporting UK pharmaceutical and healthcare businesses".

The University of Manchester Incubator Company (UMIC) enjoys an excellent track record of nurturing new biomedical small and medium-sized enterprises and spin-outs.

The region is also home to a large and growing number of specialist research institutes and organisations like the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRN) and the Northwest Institute for Biohealth Informatics.

Liverpool is home to the UK Biobank, which is a medical research initiative, which aims to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of life-threatening illnesses.

The world’s first medical institution dedicated to the teaching and study of tropical diseases - the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) - also remains at the forefront of globally significant research programmes.

And in 2007, the Government-backed £30m National Biomanufacturing Centre (NBC) opened in Speke.

The key objective of the centre is to speed up the transfer of research from these academic establishments into commercial production.

A healthy future

The scale of the Northwest's biomedical sector has resulted in it being inextricably linked to the region’s economic well-being.

The sector is widely perceived to be in robust health due to the presence of the major global pharmaceutical and healthcare technology companies, the rapidly expanding biotechnology community and the renowned academic and clinical research strengths found here.

Mike Connor, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) Northwest’s advisor for the biomedical sector, said: "The cluster in the Northwest is key to both the economic health and the export performance of the area.

"In order to further strengthen this position, UKTI Northwest is focussing on strategic marketing events which showcase this region's strengths while also offering assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to either enter or grow their business in the healthcare sector internationally."

And earlier this month, the region's biomedical sector was rewarded with one of the UK's first 'Cluster Marks'.

This is a Government-backed award, which has been established to raise the profile of various UK manufacturers involved in cluster activity.

Clusters are defined as 'regional concentrations of related companies and organisations that compete, but also collaborate to share knowledge, increase innovation and drive growth within the sector'.

Dr Geoff Davison, director of Bionow and biomedical sector head at the NWDA, said: "This award is in recognition of the foresight of NWDA in creating the cluster programme within the region and the positive impact which this continues to have upon the biomedical cluster and the Northwest's economy.

"It is important that this investment continues and that the UK continues to foster the development of knowledge-intensive industries like the biomedical sector in order to drive future economic growth."