The recent announcement by AstraZeneca of the sale of Alderley Park to Manchester Science Parks (MSP) is welcomed by BioCity, the company appointed by AstraZeneca in May 2013 to develop the BioHub for early-stage and growing bioscience companies on the Cheshire site.

Dr Glenn Crocker CEO of BioCity has supported MSP in its bid for the site: “This is encouraging news for all concerned and we welcome the fact that the long term future of the Alderley Park site as a leading centre for life science innovation looks good. BioCity and MSP share the desire to continue the transformation of this highly valuable site and our respective expertise complement each other, with BioCity very much focussed on fast-growing early stage businesses.”
 
BioCity Nottingham Ltd is the UK’s leading provider of life sciences business incubation, having established BioCity Nottingham in 2003, BioCity Scotland in 2012, the BioHub at Alderley Park in 2013 and MediCity, in collaboration with Boots UK, also in 2013.
 
Since its launch, the BioHub has attracted 24 companies to its high-end laboratory and office facilities and has subsequently helped to create or secure nearly 200 scientific posts. The wide-ranging commercial activity undertaken by the growing businesses within the BioHub includes innovative drug discovery, research and development, and technical support services.  
 
Liz Thomas moved her new business Alderley Analytical into BioHub in January 2014 having received start-up support from the BioCity advisory team:  “The BioHub seminars and Bootcamp event have been invaluable in helping me to make the decision to start up a new company. The Bootcamp event was two days of hard work that took me out of my comfort zone and made me challenge and validate all the assumptions I had made about the Alderley Analytical business idea. The business contacts I have made at these events and at other parts of the process have all been very helpful in guiding me through the very complex business start up 'maze' and I couldn't have done it without them. I have now set up the company, secured some funding, identified our lab space in the BioHub and sorted out our lab equipment and instrumentation. It feels both scary and exciting.”
 
Ned Wakeman, the Director of BioHub, will continue to build on the achievements: “In less than a year, we have succeeded in our primary goal of helping to support the growth of successful life science businesses on site. In addition to our strong pipeline of enquiries, we have developed the Launch Pad programme to help individuals explore and develop commercial opportunities, we have established the Alderley Park Life Sciences Mentor Network and are implementing BioCity’s proprietary programmes and support, such as the BioHub Boot Camp.