Cambridge: driving biotechnology in Europe

Cambridge is probably the most prominent city in European biotechnology. It contains hundreds of biotechnology companies of all sizes and is at the heart of the European Human Genome Project effort. ERBI Ltd (formerly the Eastern Region Biotechnology Initiative) is creating a record of the city's evolution through regular surveys and the following article is built upon information gathered over the last four years from biotechnology companies, research organisations and service providers in and around Cambridge.

Biotechnology in Cambridge

The biotechnology industry in Cambridge continues to grow apace, from start-ups through to mature companies. Companies are springing up in clusters in and around Cambridge, with new science parks rapidly developing. Traditional business parks are also adapting to the scientific sector and companies are spinning out around Addenbrookes Hospital and the University of Cambridge.

As services and locations race to keep pace with biotechnology expansion, Cambridge now offers not only Europe's foremost biotechnology companies but also world-class dedicated business support facilities and service providers.

Biotechnology in and around Cambridge : view full map

Size matters

Organisations within Cambridge span the full size range. In 2000, the most common organisation size was 5-19 employees including Biowisdom, Cyclacel, Incenta, De Novo Pharmaceuticals and Alizyme, a publicly quoted company which manages its outsourced R&D. The next bracket up, 20-49 employees, included companies such as

Lorantis and Astex Technology, while the 50- 99 employee bracket sees biotechnology companies such as Acambis, a publicly quoted company and growing private companies such as Ribotargets and AdProTech Ltd. 100-249 employees includes some of Europe's largest biotechnology companies such as Celltech, Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) and Millennium which has moved into the region by acquisition of Cambridge Discovery Chemistry. The largest bracket contains pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline, and research such as the Sanger Centre and the Babraham Institute. The start up rate remains healthy and this is reflected in the employment trend within the Cambridge biotechnology cluster. Surveys over a three year period between 1997-2000 recorded an average increase in number of employees of 6.8% in '97-'99 and 7.8% in '98-'00, far outstripping company growth on a national level.

Emerging Companies

The emergence and success of small companies in Cambridge is supported enormously by the Babraham Bioincubator. The incubator houses start up biotechnology companies, including Acaris, Arakis, Biovation and Cyclacel. Success stories include Syngenix which has recently raised over £6M in funding, Arakis, which has raised £4.5M in venture capital and Lorantis which has outgrown its incubator roots and within the last few weeks moved onto the Cambridge Science Park. Ionix is an excellent example of a recent Cambridge start up. Founded in July 2001 with £8 million finance from Apax Partners and the Wellcome Trust, it focuses on analgesic medicine in diseases such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Ionix has 11 employees with plans to expand to 50 in 2002. Incenta is another biotech company expanding rapidly. The chemitech-based company was launched in 2000 and has already outgrown its premises with plans for significant growth in the next two years. Biotechnology shows no sign of slowing its growth, indeed the number of biotechnology companies established within the region doubled between 1995 and 2000 and almost 30% of these were set up last year.

Maturing companies

As companies grow in Cambridge, they don't pause for breath. Companies such as Ribotargets continue to expand rapidly as they mature, currently employing 60 employees, with a target of 120 by summer 2002. Cambridge Antibody Technology is another good example; employing 240 people over three sites with work being carried out on purpose built facilities in Granta Park. The company has candidates in phase III trials and is reaping rewards from its patented phage display technology. Many of the larger companies in Cambridge, as well as reaching critical phases in research, are reaching critical points in financial, business and scientific structure, leading to merger and acquisition activities. An example of this is the transformation of Celltech. It has created a position as one of the strongest biotechnology companies in Europe through key acquisitions. To support its own discovery and development focus, it merged Chiroscence, a Cambridge-based company with its own strong R&D record and Medeva Pharma, a UK company with an outstanding record in pharmaceutical marketing.

Company focus

The market in Cambridge remains firmly focused on therapeutics, mainly in the form of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. The second most popular area is production of instruments for biomedical, biotechnology and healthcare applications. These two categories, one pharmaceutical and one a technical service, illustrate the diversity of the biotechnology sector. Accelrys is a typical technical service provider to biotechnology research. It provides software for biology, chemistry and materials science and develops products used in all areas of research, ranging from underpinning data management from gene sequencing to modelling protein structure and predicting drug interaction.

Working together

The phrase 'small world' is never truer than when applied to the biotechnology industry. Contact with specialist suppliers and customers is widespread, with many companies having links abroad. Research-based links are focused most strongly within the UK, reflecting the desire for close collaboration and the calibre of UK research, for example Incyte Genomics Ltd. is working with Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust in a genomic research partnership studying osteoarthritis. Links with North America are also strong, particularly with specialist suppliers and customers. Examples include; AdProTech Ltd. working with Elan Pharmaceuticals Inc and Pharmagene plc entering into an agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb. Overall, Cambridge has more numerous links with Europe than North America, indicating that the European biotechnology sector has enormous value and is effectively networked. Financial links are mostly kept within the UK although as the EU develops, it is likely that financial currency considerations become less important.

Challenges for the region

The continuing expansion of biotechnology in Cambridge brings with it many challenges and the industry is adapting to the demand and supply issue that have arisen. Increased pressure on space within Cambridge has led to companies seeking premises away from the locations originally associated with the sector. Granta Park, Chesterford Research Park and Cambridge Research Park are new science parks that have become more attractive to companies seeking to expand.

Access to the Cambridge success story

Companies and research organisations from throughout Europe have an excellent opportunity to access the innovative research and entrepreneurial drive in Cambridge through the annual networking conference held at Hinxton, home of the Human Genome Project in the UK. Now in its fourth year, the ERBI conference attracts delegates from all over the world. It is a showcase for companies and is attended by over 200 different organisations each year. To take part in the 2002 conference or find out more about Cambridge, visit the ERBI website at www.erbi.co.uk

We now look at the role that the Cambridge Science Park plays in the development of biotechnology in Cambridge over the years.

The Cambridge Science Park, founded by Trinity College in 1970, has the highest concentration of biotechnology and pharmaceutical research and development companies in the UK.

The Park spans 152 acres and amounts to 1.3 million sq ft of R & D accommodation of which 40% is occupied by bio-technology and pharmaceutical companies.

Visible Genetics, Inc.

is a leading exponent in the emerging field of pharmacogenomics which has its international research centre on the Science Park. It uses genetic information to tailor drug therapy for individual patients. Chief Scientific Officer Dr Brendan Larder, an alumnus of the University of Cambridge and an authority in the field, heads the team. “The location works well for us not only in terms of recruitment and suppliers but in terms of Company image - Cambridge and Visible Genetics are both synonymous with cutting edge science”, commented Dr Larder.

Visible Genetics' TRUGENE™ HIV-1 Genotyping Kit and OpenGene™ DNA Sequencing System

Visible Genetics recently achieved a major medical milestone - the first ever FDA-cleared pharmacogenomics-based in vitro diagnostic assay, the TRUGENE (HIV-1 Genotyping Kit, and the OpenGene (DNA Sequencing System. The kit detects mutations in a patient's HIV genome and the OpenGene interpretation software tells the physician whether there is any evidence of resistance to each of the 17 HIV drugs currently available.

Cambridge Electronic Design (CED)

was formed by two of its current directors in 1970 and has always been based in Cambridge, the last 20 years on the Science Park. Being on the Park, CED has always had close links with the scientific excellence of Cambridge University and many of its departments in and around the city. “We feel at home with our Science Park neighbours, some of whom are our customers.

The combination of a high-tech environment and attractive, well-landscaped park provides a creative atmosphere for our experienced and well-qualified staff,” explains Simon Hart, Press officer. CED systems are used in thousands of life science laboratories around the world. They supply Data acquisition and analysis systems

using the powerful 1401 family of laboratory interfaces. Applications include intra-cellular/ extracellular physiology, spike shape analysis, EEG, EMG, ECG, behavioural studies, evoked response, signal averaging, spectral analysis, chart recording and teaching systems.

CED systems are used in thousands of life science laboratories around the world. They supply Data acquisition and analysis systems using the powerful 1401 family of laboratory interfaces. Applications include intra-cellular/ extracellular physiology, spike shape analysis, EEG, EMG, ECG, behavioural studies, evoked response, signal averaging, spectral analysis, chart recording and teaching systems.

Astex Technology is a structure-based drug discovery company pioneering the use of high throughput X-ray crystallography (HTX (tm) technology for the rapid identification of novel drug candidates. Astex have tripled in size in the last year and currently employ 71 staff. Dr Harren Jhoti, Co founder, CSO, explains their reasons for choosing this location:

“Cambridge is the birthplace of X-ray crystallography and was the natural choice for Astex. My two Co founders have strong links with the University; Prof Sir Tom Blundell is Head of the Biochemistry Department and Dr Chris Abell is a Reader of Chemistry. Our close proximity to the city and research establishments are a great attraction to potential recruits.”

Scientist prepares to fire a beam of X-rays at a protein crystal

The current explosion of research projects, business initiatives and new biotech companies could lead some commentators to assume that the Stockholm/Uppsala biomedical sector is an overnight success. And from an international perspective there are plenty of statistics to validate this assumption.

Abcam is a brilliant example of a company that has fused Biotechnology with Internet technologies to create an online central resource for finding and purchasing specialist reagents such as antibodies, to accelerate the pace of bio-research. Dr Jonathan Milner, Abcam's Founder and CEO commented “We've seen fantastic growth in the use of our website far exceeding our expectations and enabling us to become the world's leading online supplier of antibodies. Being on the Science Park was a coup for us and we have benefited enormously from infrastructure and support services and proximity of customers”

He added “The real key to Abcam's growth and success is instant up to the minute access to information rich cutting edge research products - the researchers really appreciate this”

The Camitro Corporation is a developer and provider of an integrated platform of predictive models for the design of pharmaceutical compounds that have optimal ADME/Tox properties. The company is a subsidiary of a Californian based parent that set up on the Park less than a year ago. Customers are benefiting from their modest company size of 18 employees. “Smaller R & D companies are faster on their feet and can react to clients needs very quickly. The Park has a great mix of complementary companies and natural customers. We also value links to Cambridge University provided by our location. Thus one of our staff retains a position in the Cavendish Laboratory which provides opportunities for collaboration and recruitment.” comments Dr Mike Tarbit, MD Demand for accommodation at the Cambridge Science Park remains strong with most requirements being for molecular biology and chemistry laboratories. Soon, construction of two new laboratories will be underway on the Park's remaining underdeveloped land; construction of a third laboratory building is proposed for commencement before the end of the year.

With this rapid take-up of space, leaving only two further sites available, Trinity College and Gallagher estates have recently announced their intention to collaborate in the development of a Business and Science Park as an annexe to the Cambridge Science Park. This new Park will form part of a proposed new settlement, seven miles from Cambridge, at Oakington Barracks. Trinity College's Senior Bursar, Dr Jeremy Fairbrother said:

This is the ideal location for the next phase of growth of one of the world's leading R&D facilities. It will enable seamless integration between the two sites and allow growing companies to relocate to the new settlement once they reach a critical mass.