Click on the links below to read further information about some of the Non-University based Research institutes (both public and private) that are located in the South West of England.

Health Protection Agency

Defence Science & Technology Laboratories

Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Plymouth Marine Laboratory

Brixham Environmental Laboratory

Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research

European Collection of Cell Cultures

International Blood Group Reference Laboratory 

Bristol Institute for Transfusion Sciences

Health Protection Agency

HPA, the commercial arm of the UK’s Health Protection Agency conducts research, development and production contracts both for the UK Department of Health, as well as a range of pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Research on behalf of the UK’s Department of Health includes programmes to develop improved TB and meningitis B vaccines. Other core activities include the centre's’s special pathogens diagnosis and reference unit which is responsible for detecting infectious diseases. HPA is suited to handling of highly infectious agents, courtesy of its secure location, ACDP category 3 and 4 facilities, and staff expertise. Several worldwide partnerships exist which have taken HPA patented research discoveries into development. Such partnerships include the development of therapeutics derived from Clostridial neurotoxins and vaccine delivery systems. HPA is the licensed manufacturer of the UK’s anthrax vaccine and is assisting the US authorities with studies into their vaccine. 

Defence Science & Technology Laboratories

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is the centre of scientific excellence for the UK Ministry of Defence. The Biomedical Sciences Department provides the science base for the development of effective medical countermeasures for chemical, and biological agents and ballistic countermeasures for military personnel. The department has also researched expedient surgical approaches, as well as vaccine development in fields as diverse as microbiology, biochemistry, and genetic manipulation. Other capabilities include drug evaluation, toxicology, pharmacology, and physiology. 

Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association

Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association works solely for the food industry and has more than 1500 member companies from 60 countries around the world. It undertakes research across the food chain from raw material production and functionality, through to final product development. Analytical laboratories in chemistry, biochemistry and micro-biology develop, evaluate and apply diagnostic techniques related to the safety and quality of foods.

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology undertakes long term research in community, population, and molecular ecology with an emphasis on the application of modeling and other approaches to the management, conservation and restoration of biodiversity. It predicts the effects of pollutants and other environmental stresses on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems.

Research Sections are:

• Population Ecology – including research on genetic variation, population dynamics and community ecology
• River Ecology – including the use of biodiversity to assess water quality, research on vegetation 

Plymouth Marine Laboratory is one of the world’s leading marine science facilities delivering research and developing forecasting models for the marine environment. It is at the forefront of developing new technology to monitor the impact of global warming and pollution at a time of change and works internationally with businesses and governmental bodies.

The Brixham Environmental Laboratory, part of Astra Zeneca, has built a world-renowned reputation for environmental science. During its 50-year history it has developed a wide range of high quality testing and monitoring services, such as testing the toxicity of products, the impact on the environment and has particular expertise in land remediation techniques.

Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research has an international reputation for research into a wide range of agricultural and environmental subjects including: • Plant animal relations at grazing • Meat and milk production from grassland • Forage legumes • Grassland invertebrates and fungi • Nutrient cycling processes and transformations • Fertiliser and organic manure utilisation • Emissions of ammonia and greenhouse gases • Odours in farming systems • Biodiversity in grassland • Silvopastoral agro forestry 

European Collection of Cell Cultures (ECACC) is a provider of high quality cell cultures and associated services to industry and the academic research community. ECACC was originally founded as a cell culture collection to service the research community. However, the culture collection has expanded and diversified to become one of the premier collections in the world. ECACC is a centre of expertise in all aspects of cell culture offering products & services including patent and safe deposits, mycoplasma testing & eradication, scale-up and process development, and training courses for industry and academia. 

International Blood Group Reference Laboratory was established in 1946 to provide Specialist Reference Services related to blood transfusion. In 1952 it was designated a collaborating centre for the World Health Organisation. The laboratory provides reference services for difficult blood grouping and compatibility problems. It coordinates the International Rare Donor Panel, which permits the location of rare compatible blood worldwide. It provides a molecular genotyping service and has recently developed a non-invasive method for determining the blood group of a foetus from a sample of maternal blood. The laboratory commercially offers a range of monoclonal antibodies to researchers around the world. 

The Bristol Institute for Transfusion Sciences was established to bring together research and teaching at IBGRL, the Bristol Blood Centre of the National Blood Service and the University of Bristol. It is an affiliated Institute to the University of Bristol. The centre focuses on three programs of research: cellular therapies, antibody therapies, and blood safety. A Clinical Biotechnology Centre was completed in 1999, which provides facilities for the production of novel biological products under GMP conditions for use in Clinical Trials and for the development of new techniques for the ex-vivo manipulation of cells prior to transportation or transfusion.