Enterprise Ireland to Nurture Biotech Start-Ups at St James's Hospital

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Enterprise Ireland Biotechnology Commercialisation Group

Enterprise Ireland to Nurture Biotech Start-Ups at St James's Hospital

Release date: 02 Oct 2006

Today (Tuesday, Oct 3, 2006) Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin T.D., officially opened a new Enterprise Ireland-supported bioincubation facility at St James's Hospital, Dublin. The bioincubator, aimed at fostering the growth of Irish biotechnology companies, comprises 172m of laboratory and serviced office space. Two Enterprise Ireland client companies Opsona Therapeutics and Cellix are located at the facility.

Making the announcement the Minister said:
'I am delighted to be here today to open the St James's bioincubator, one of 6 bioincubators which have come on stream in the last two years. It is unique in that it is the first bioincubator to be based on a hospital campus and the location is synergistic for the hospital and the companies located there. The bioincubator at St James's will facilitate the translation of science and research into products that are used to diagnose and treat disease.'

Offering a range of on-site specialist and targeted business services, the facility will provide a nurturing environment for early stage biotechnology companies. Enterprise Ireland provided funding of €450,000 to convert existing facilities into a bioincubator. The incubator at St James's brings to six the number of Enterprise Ireland supported bioincubators, with facilities also located at DCU (Invent), NUIG, TCD (Pearse St.), UCC and UCD.

Feargal Ó Móráin, Executive Director of Enterprise Ireland said: 'Through its Bioincubation Programme, Enterprise Ireland has provided business supports and specialised laboratory facilities to facilitate the development of the Biotechnology sector in Ireland. It is obvious from the quality of the companies located in the bioincubators that the Irish biotechnology sector is vibrant and growing.'

Speaking at the opening, Professor of Clinical Medicine at Trinity College Dublin, Dermot Kelleher said 'The new facility will allow the translation of research into real tangible clinical benefits for patient care. With €500m being invested in biotech research over the last 5 years, it is vital that our third level institutions and associated teaching hospitals are prepared and resourced to help bring the results of this research into clinical trials to where they have potential to benefit patients.'

This announcement follows Enterprise Ireland's recent announcement of a €4.5m investment in 11 Biotech projects under its Commercialisation Fund.

About Enterprise Ireland's Bioincubation Programme
Bioincubators are managed jointly by Enterprise Ireland's Biotechnology Commercialisation Group and a technology transfer office in each institution. The six fully operational bioincubators provide over 1,600m of bioincubation space and were completed at a cost of almost €4m. They house 12 companies employing over 110 people.

In 2006, Enterprise Ireland invested a further €490K in the Irish incubators for additional equipment and services and to ensure standardised quality across all six bioincubators.

The bioincubators provide professional research and commercialisation services, as well as access to financial, legal and marketing advice. Bioincubation facilities are available to a range of clients including University spin-outs, company spin-outs, entrepreneurs from overseas, ex-patriate entrepreneurs and foreign companies who wish to relocate to Ireland.

The St James's Bioincubator
The first tenants for the St James's bioincubator are Opsona Therapeutics and Cellix.

Opsona
Opsona is a drug discovery and development company, focused on novel therapeutic approaches to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Opsona's three scientific founders are world-renowned immunologists at Trinity College Dublin. The company is preparing for the clinical development of two immunomodulatory compounds for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Opsona raised ?6.25m in March 2005 and signed a collaborative deal with Wyeth in February this year.

Cellix
Cellix is a research tool provider supplying innovative solutions to drug discovery laboratories. Cellix's products include plastic biochips which model human blood vessels. This provides scientists with a set-up mimicking physiological conditions in which to test new therapeutic drugs for inflammatory conditions. Having sold products to US government laboratories - the National Institute of Health; Cellix continues to target such high quality institutes together with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

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Article Id:	217410
Release date:	02 Oct 2006

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