After opening in November of last year, the new Sheffield Bioincubator has high hopes of contributing to bioscience proliferation in northern Britain. The facility follows several bioincubators that have already sprouted up in the region (Nature 425, 430–433; 200310.1038/nj6956-430a).

“It reflects strength of healthcare technology and the bioscience sector in the region,” says Mark Tock, the Sheffield Bioincubator manager. “In the past, the northern regions hadn't been able to receive as much investment. It was largely a perception problem.” Now, Tock suggests that “bioscience is booming under a steel sky”.

The United Kingdom has a total of 17 bioincubators. Including Sheffield, seven are located in northern Britain — the York Bioincubator, the Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation in Bradford, the Manchester Incubator, the MerseyBio Business Incubator in Liverpool, Biocity in Nottingham, and the Roslin Bioincubator. An eighth, the Leeds Bioincubator, will open for business in July 2007.

Twenty scientists and support staff currently occupy the building, says Tock. The incubator's 16 labs and 16 offices, though, have the potential to accommodate up to 150 staff. The incubator started with £6.9 million in investments from the University of Sheffield and European Regional Development Funds, which were delivered through the South Yorkshire Objective 1 Programme.

The facility's first tenant, a company called Biofusion, specializes in the commercialization of intellectual property for life sciences, and, in particular, science generated at the University of Sheffield. One Biofusion spin-off diagnostic company, Lifestyle Choices, develops menopause and female fertility products. Another early tenant, ARC BioServ, provides custom production biomolecules, such as monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. In July, the South Yorkshire Bioscience Enterprise Network will join the bioincubator.

The Sheffield facility also has a 'virtual network' to serve companies with less mature ideas that seek the benefit of the bioincubator's expertise. In return for a fee, companies can use the bioincubator as a professional front, taking advantage of a telephone answering service and meeting facilities. Virtual tenants can log on to the bioincubator's community website remotely. “It enables younger companies, and companies looking to expand into the UK and EU, to plug in to our community,” Tok says.