Kuecept Ltd, a specialist drug delivery technology company, is the first company to sign up as an Affiliate of the Institute of Life Science (ILS) at Swansea University.
The ILS Affiliate Scheme is specifically designed to encourage life science and healthcare companies to access the expertise and state-of-the-art facilities available in Wales’ foremost life science incubator.
It is set to significantly increase the company cluster that is growing up around the ILS base in south west Wales and the scheme will be officially launched on March 17, at BioWales 2010.
Kuecept Ltd is a speciality contract research organisation supporting the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical drug delivery industries.
Explaining why the company found the ILS Affiliate Scheme so attractive, Executive Chairman and CEO, Bryn Williams, said: “We signed up for the International Business Wales Washington trade mission in 2009, primarily to explore business opportunities on the US East Coast. As part of the programme we met representatives of the ILS, who were also scouting for opportunities. It proved to be a very fortuitous meeting and our discussions grew from there.
“The Affiliate Scheme is ideal for Kuecept. It gives us a ‘home’ at the ILS and access to expertise and facilities across the University campus, including specialists in Swansea University’s new Centre for NanoHealth. We’re now working on joint research collaborations with leading academics. Just being in the building is giving us a better understanding of what’s on offer.”
Ieuan Wyn Jones, Minister for the Economy and Transport, welcomed the news that Kuecept was collaborating on joint research projects with ILS and Swansea University.
"The Welsh Assembly Government recognises that the combination of business and academia is crucial for success in the global economy – and can play a key role in pulling the country out of recession,” he said.
“We have world class expertise within our academic institutions and very many highly innovative technology led businesses in Wales – but only through working collaboratively can we maximise these assets for the benefit of the economy and the long term future prosperity of Wales.”
Professor Gareth Morgan, Head of the School of Medicine at Swansea University, added: “Since opening its doors in 2007, the ILS has experienced rapid growth and there’s no doubt that it has been instrumental in helping to create a life science cluster in south west Wales.
“We’re always looking for flexible ways to help the sector and the Affiliate scheme provides the perfect ‘soft landing’ for companies that want to develop a relationship with the ILS without taking the major step of establishing a permanent office. We’re delighted to welcome Kuecept as our first Affiliate and to the ILS family.”
The ILS Affiliate Scheme is open to all companies working in the life science and healthcare sectors, with a particular emphasis on potential high-growth organisations wishing to establish a foothold in the south west Wales region.
Its benefits include a hot-desk facility in the heart of the ILS plus access to laboratories, specialist facilities, equipment, academic and business expertise and the use of meeting and conference amenities.
For further information about the scheme, contact Sian Newman at the ILS on 01792 6023262 or email s.y.newman@swansea.ac.uk.
The Institute of Life Science (ILS) is dedicated to delivering a healthier, wealthier nation by coupling medical advance with economic development.
Based in a new 5,000 sqm building, the ILS has a strong focus on building commercial-academic links and taking advances from the laboratory into hospitals, surgeries and homes. The ILS also provides a unique infrastructure for computational biology, based around Blue C, an IBM-built supercomputer. Phase Two of the ILS is now underway, providing a further 6,000 sqm of specialist facilities to include a Clinical Research Facility, an Imaging Centre , the Centre for NanoHealth, and a tripling of business incubation space. Visit www.swansea.ac.uk/ils.
