‘Brightest minds and cutting-edge science there will help patients’

High on Foresterhill, the new Opportunity North East BioHub has amazing views over the city – and a stunning future ahead, creating medicines and treatments to help people the world over.

You may have seen work on the triangular building progressing, and yesterday the wraps came off for the official opening.

Innovative life sciences companies will soon be moving into its specialist laboratories, and the chat in its breakout rooms – built to encourage team working – will be about turning bright ideas into real-world solutions to ease, or perhaps cure, diseases and medical conditions.

The UK Government has long recognised life sciences as an area where Britain can excel and where we can truly lead the world. We are proud to have delivered both the AstraZeneca vaccine and the dexamethasone treatment which saved millions of lives globally.

I am confident the One BioHub will rise to the fore as a place where our brightest minds use cutting-edge science to help patients with lifelimiting illness, or with conditions which impact their quality of life.

The One BioHub is also a shining example of the power of Scotland’s two governments joining forces. Through our Aberdeen City Region Deal, the UK Government injected £10 million into the One BioHub, funding matched by the Scottish

Government. It’s just one example of the UK Government’s strong commitment to supporting economic growth right across north-east Scotland.

This includes £125m of support for Aberdeen City Region Deal projects, such as the Net Zero Technology Centre, the expansion of the South Harbour, and an innovation hub for the food and drink sector, also being delivered by One.

Our wider levelling up funds and initiatives are delivering more than £56m for projects across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, and we remain committed to the transition to a net-zero economy, including through our £20 billion investment in carbon capture utilisation and storage.

More widely, Scotland – with our solid track record of innovation and collaboration – is blazing a trail with life sciences.

More than 700 life sciences enterprises in Scotland employ over 42,000 people in highquality jobs – jobs so good wages are about 13% higher than the Scottish average.

The life sciences industry is also a major contributor to the UK’s reputation as a global centre for research and innovation, with the Scottish sector exporting more than £3bn annually.

One, chaired by proud Aberdonian Sir Ian Wood, harnesses the talent and innovation which abounds in the northeast, and I am delighted the UK Government has helped make the BioHub, One’s latest brilliant idea, a reality.

The distinctive BioHub is at Foresterhill.