The South of England is home to over 60 per cent of the UK's Biotech organisations and is therefore one of Europe's main centres for Biotechnology. This region contains the key academic centres of Cambridge, Oxford and London as well as the majority of the pharmaceutical activity in the UK. However, each part of this vibrant region has its own active cluster of biotech industries and academic institutions.

Cambridge

Some would say that modern biotechnology started in Cambridge with the discovery of the structure of DNA by Crick and Watson. World-class medical and genetic research and other Nobel prize winning research in the areas of monoclonal antibodies and bioinformatics has established the region as a centre of biotech research excellence. Undoubtedly, this is the main reason why biotech companies continue to grow here. But an additional factor is the establishment of many specialist service providers which have also grown up with these biotech companies.

Cambridge is home to many major companies operating in the genomics and biotherapeutics field and is probably the most mature cluster within the UK. This is reflected in the rapid growth of support industries on which biotech is reliant -- patents firms, specialist lawyers, VCs and seed funds are all well established here. Among companies with a specialist market focus, (bio)pharmaceuticals (including vaccines) dominates. These not only include home-grown companies such as Cantab, Cambridge Antibody Technology and Peptide Therapeutics, but also an influx of major US companies such as Amgen, Genzyme and Incyte. Instrumentation is the second most numerous type of company located in this area while agbiotech organisations are also well represented.

Oxford

Oxford is renowned world-wide as a centre of innovation and enterprise. Built on some 800 years of academic excellence, the region is now the home of a growing number of science parks, incubators and vibrant cluster development. There are over 50 biotechnology companies and more than 200 bio-dependent organisations in and around the city of Oxford. Key Companies such as Oxford BioMedica, Prolifix and Powderject are all located here. Oxagen is a rapidly expanding company in the genomics field while ISIS Innovation and Oxford BioTecnet support the emerging companies from both the university and industry base.

London

London is also emerging as a major player in the biotech field. Spending on biotechnology-related research in London is about £300 million — the largest of any UK region and there are 50 biotech companies located in the London area. Always a source of academic excellence in both biotech and healthcare, London has a plethora of teaching hospitals and science-based colleges such as Imperial, UCL and Kings.

South East

Already strongly associated with the pharmaceuticals industry, the South East region is now bidding to become the latest biotech cluster within the South. There are over 150 organisations operating here. These include 20 major pharmaceutical and agribio companies. The region, which includes the counties of Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, comprises 10 universities with strong involvement in Bioscience. Many of the UK's research agencies are also based here. Companies such Abbott, Murex, Genzyme as well as many smaller companies makes diagnostics one of the key areas of interest. However, small highly specialised companies such as Genetix, Equibio, Genpak, AMS and Advanced Biotechnologies, all of which supply the genomics research base, have also based their activities in the South East taking advantage of the region's good transport links, with two international airports and the rail link through to the Continent. The differences between the clusters in these regions are reflected in their respective support organisations

Support Organisations

Oxfordshire BioLink is a networking organisation which represents and promotes a wide range of bioscience companies within the Oxford area. An industry-driven project, BioLink aids the development of a strong biotechnology cluster in the county. Its activities include practical business support and facilitating networking at a local, national and international level.

Two new initiatives were launched by Biolink in June. Firstly, an e-commerce based purchasing group will enable the cluster to take advantage of their combined purchasing power to buy chemicals and consumables. This is in alliance with E-Labs Europe, a newly launched e-commerce company.

Secondly, a new web-based training programme developed in conjunction with Oxford Brookes University will provide management training within the Biotech Community. Funded by the South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA), this distance-learning programme aims to take the new manager through all the steps essential to bring a new biotech product to market.

Southern Bioscience is an organisation working with bioscience companies based in the south of England. It represents a broad range of companies within the bioindustry whose focus is on high technology, science-based products in the pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, environment, agriculture and food industries. Southern Bioscience works with established companies, spin outs and the academic research base within the region.

In common with the other support organisations, Southern Bioscience is industry driven, working closely with companies within the region to promote collaboration both between individual companies and academia. It provides a first point of contact for organisations from outside the UK who want access to the technology or who are looking for potential partners. BioPartnering with overseas organisations has become a key activity of the support organisations and Southern Bioscience has developed Biopartnering with companies in Berlin, Israel, Finland and the United States.

Southern Bioventures was launched by Southern Bioscience as the mentoring and incubator organisation that assists new companies through the initial stages of development. Southern Bioventures provides a raft of support to these companies from a pool of expertise provided by established biotech companies and the biotech service sector.

The BioSkills Unit was also established by Southern Bioscience to address the skills needs of Biotech Companies in the region and help provide training.

Cambridge has the most highly developed support organisation ERBI (Eastern Region Biotechnology Initiative) is an industry-led initiative which started in 1997 after discussions between the local Biotech community and local and national government. Although it was originally financed by a grant from the Department of Trade and Industry, ERBI now raises most of its finance from private sources.

As of April this year ERBI became a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. The company is administered by a small group of directors but is overseen by a steering committee which is representative of the biotech cluster.

ERBI's main activity involves the promotion of local, national and international communications and networking within the region. Key networking events for subscription members are the regular meetings, typically attracting 60–70 people, and the annual conference which usually attracts over 200 delegates. Another new service being piloted from this June is the purchasing group which will provide better prices and services for ERBI members.

The website www.erbi.co.uk gives a guide to ERBI's services and also provides a database of many of the companies within the region. Earlier this year ERBI carried out a survey of 350 organisations from across the six counties of the East of England (a 50—mile radius of Cambridge). Approximately 150 of these organisations are biotech or providing advanced technical services to these firms. Specialist business services make up a similar number — so the region has an important mix of technology and service-based businesses. Approximately 30 universities, research institutes and hospitals add to the cluster. The remainder includes over 100 organisations which have an active interest in biotechnology within the region, including groups such as architects, builders, and local government.

London's regional support organisation is the newly launched London Biotechnology Network. Their website provides more information. They have an extensive database of all the local biotechnology companies and they hold regular monthly meetings to encourage networking between the science and business community in London.