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Bio-Buzz
No.12 / December 2008
IN THIS ISSUE
HEADLINE NEWS
INDUSTRY CORNER
EVENTS LISTINGS
Headline News
Happy Holidays and a prosperous and peaceful New Year from everyone at BioApproaches SW
South West Regional Development Agency to launch small business loan fund
The South West Regional Development Agency has decided to establish, early in 2009, a new Business Loan Fund of up to £10 million. The new fund will provide up to £250k for businesses with viable business plans but which are unable to get support from commercial banks and private investors. It will invest throughout the region on commercial terms. For more information about the fund speak to Business Link on 0845 600 9966.
For more information about other measures to support business go to the RDA website www.southwestrda.org.uk or download the First Steps booklet which sets out what the RDA, in partnership with other agencies and business groups, is doing to help companies respond to the economic crisis and chart a course. For recovery for more information click HERE
Portuguese and Spanish Companies to visit the South West in March 2009
A delegation of Portuguese and Spanish Companies will be visiting the South West in March 2009. The mission will have a biotech/marine focus and the companies will be interested in visiting research institutes and meeting with other companies with a view to collaboration and partnering. To find out more about the plans for the visit please contact BioApproaches HERE or Ana Cristina Abreu, Investment Officer in the Trade and Investment Section at the British Embassy in Lisbon. Ana can be contacted on + 351 21 392 4065 or by email: ana.abreu@fco.gov.uk. More information about Portugal can be found HERE.
Seminar on supplying the UN, Red Cross and World Bank. London February 2009
On the 25 February 2009, UK Trade & Investment will be holding a seminar at the BERR Conference Centre, 1 Victoria Street, London to look at opportunities in these important healthcare markets. Each year, some US$60 billion are disbursed, in the form of concessionary guaranteed loans and grants, by governments and the multilateral development projects, designed jointly by the donor and beneficiary government. Much of this implementation is contracted out to the private sector, representing significant business opportunities for consultants, works contractors and suppliers of goods and services in the Healthcare sector. The event starts at 09:30. For more information contact Claire Gamage of the UKTI Aid-Funded Business Service on 0845 603 0084 or c.gamage@afbs.org.uk
Life Sciences Across The Pond. Bristol, February 2009
Don’t miss an opportunity to attend the forthcoming British American Business Council meeting scheduled for February. Focused specifically on issues affecting life science, biotechnology and medical technology companies wishing to find out more about American markets, it will cover issues including IP, litigation, access to market and funding. It will also be an ideal opportunity to hear company talk about their real life experience. The full details are being finalised and further information will follow soon. For more information in the meantime please contact info@bioapproaches.org.uk
Industry Corner
HSBC pledges £1bn of funding to British businesses
HSBC has pledged to make £1 billion of extra funding available to Britain’s small businesses.
Britain’s largest bank has set up a $5 billion (£3.4 billion) global working capital fund, targeted initially at the UK and Hong Kong. The funding for the UK represents a 20% increase on last year. HSBC’s decision followed a pledge by Royal Bank of Scotland to freeze overdraft rates for small businesses, and a series of initiatives from HBOS and Lloyds TSB. For more information click HERE
HERDA-SW re-launches the Expertsouthwest Website
The website HERE forms the regional portal promoting collaborative work between businesses and the universities of South West England. Expertsouthwest.com provides a central information point for businesses and gives an insight into the extensive opportunities which are to be gained from working jointly with universities in the South West.
The region’s universities offer a wide range of services and facilities for businesses, from training opportunities and graduate placements to state of the art centres of expertise. Universities work on projects with the public, private and not-for-profit sectors and can provide specialist support across a number of industry areas.
The redesigned website provides advice, information and contact details to help businesses take advantage of the opportunities which universities in the South West have to offer. As well as this, visitors to the site can sign up to receive the Expertsouthwest.com newsletter which provides regular updates and there is a success story library where examples of successful projects are showcased.
For more information about HERDA, the regional higher education association for South West England click HERE.
Do you offer contract R&D, contract manufacturing or contract clinical facilities and services in the South West?
The January 2009 edition of BioBuzz will be dedicated to these important areas of the South West biotechnology and life science sectors.
If you wish to have your facilities or services listed free of charge in BioBuzz in January please contact us. BioBuzz has a current circulation of approx 2,000 readers across the UK.
For a pro forma and more information please contact info@bioapproaches.co.uk or telephone 01225 388739.
'Selling to the NHS’. Free event being held in Truro - January 2009
Cornwall Medi-Park Ltd, in partnership with Business Link is delighted to invite you to a FREE event at which you can find out how to sell your products or services to the NHS locally. The event is on Wednesday 7th January 2009 from 10.30 – 15.10 at The Knowledge Spa, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro.
This free event will focus on;
- The opportunities available for local businesses
- How to get your products or services bought
- How NHS purchasing arrangements work
- How to get your products or services on the national list
- How the NHS interacts with suppliers
For more information click HERE.
UKTI SW to lead a Market Visit to UAE in March 2009
This represents a prime opportunity to explore a new market in depth. The mission, being led by South West UKTI trade advisor Nick Field runs from the 28 February to 6 March 2009 and focuses on Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other Middle East Markets. This is a multi-sectoral market visit. If you would like to receive further information on this market visit please contact Sarah Absolom at UK Trade and Investment on 01275 370706 or e-mail her HERE.
Read the UK Trade and Investment ‘Tomorrow’s Markets’ report
Tomorrow's Markets is a UK Trade & Investment report written in co-operation with the Economist Intelligence Unit, which examines global business attitudes to opportunities and risk within the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – and other, newer emerging markets. The Economist Intelligence Unit carried out a survey of executives in 561 companies from 19 business sectors around the world in August 2008. Just under 200 of those executives surveyed work for companies headquartered in emerging markets; the remainder are from companies headquartered in developed countries. Almost half (47 per cent) surveyed were small- and medium-sized companies, with annual global revenues
below US$500 million; one-fifth had global annual revenues of over US$10 billion. The surveyed executives, 58 per cent of whom were C-suite or board members, were employed in a wide range of business functions.
To read the report click HERE.
New SEMTA Train to Gain Compact Scheme - £65 million now available
Employers in the Bioscience Sector, who are based in England, can access £65 million of Train to Gain funding to invest in skills. SEMTA, the sector skills council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies are keen to hear from you if your organisation has identified training needs and you want to find out more about this excellent opportunity. This new Compact scheme has been broadened and improved and can support training at higher levels than previously available. It can also be used to support sector specific training, for example, regulatory affairs training. This funding, which became available in Sept 08, is available for 2 years. Support for Level 4 qualifications will be available in early 2009.
To find out more about the Compact scheme and how you can benefit, or to find out more about SEMTA call SEMTA on 0845 643 9001 or visit www.semta.org.uk. To download the faxback form click HERE.
Don’t forget to make a note that BioApproaches SW has relocated!
BioApproaches is now located at: the INNOVATION centre, Carpenter House, First Floor, Broad Quay, Bath, BA1 1UB. The new telephone number for Jade Fulbrook-Smith is 01225 388739 and for Dr Pauline Lee it is 01225 388742. Email, website and mobile telephone numbers are unchanged.
Contact Us
For further information on any of these items, please visit our website:
www.bioapproaches.co.uk or contact us directly.
Jade Fulbrook-Smith – Project Coordinator, BioBuzz Editor
Tel: 07715 856262 Email: Jade@BioApproaches.co.uk
Dr Pauline Lee – Network Manager
Tel: 07710 779548 Email: pauline@BioApproaches.co.uk
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