Visiting minister says Cambridge bio-innovation ‘has shown what’s possible’
George Freeman, minister for science, research and innovation, visited Cambridge Biomedical Campus to learn how the city is leading innovation in life sciences.
The Conservative MP for mid-Norfolk’s tour last week followed the site’s delegation as a life sciences opportunity zone. He visited the Genomics Laboratory Hub, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Milner Therapeutics Institute and Heart and Lung Research Institute, along with Illumina at Granta Park. As well as being the hub for UK life sciences, the Illumina Centre is the company’s EMEA headquarters and home to more than 500 employees.
While there, the minister received a guided tour of Illumina’s Solutions Lab to observe the next-generation sequencing technology that is unlocking the power of the genome and helping to improve human health across the world. He also had the opportunity to hear about the Illumina Accelerator – the world’s first business accelerator focused solely on creating an innovation ecosystem for the genomics industry.
Clare Kingsley, senior director of scientific research at Illumina, said: “As a long-time advocate for life sciences in the UK, it was a pleasure to host minister Freeman at our Illumina headquarters in Cambridge yesterday and reflect on the journey from the 100,000 Genomes Project to present. The advances in sequencing technology at Illumina have significantly reduced both the time and cost of delivering genomics into healthcare for the NHS patients today.”
Bobby Kaura, director of global ecosystem development, Illumina, said of the January 20 occasion: “Improving healthcare outcomes by unlocking the power of the genome is a journey we take with our entrepreneurs, who demonstrate the actionability, depth and breadth of genomics applications. The visit from minister Freeman, a long-time advocate for life sciences in the UK, sends a very strong signal of support and commitment to continue our investments in science and innovation, to drive value for Illumina Accelerator Cambridge start-ups.”
George Freeman said: “During my lifetime in and around Cambridge I’ve seen the Cambridge science and technology cluster grow into a global powerhouse of innovation in biomedical and digital technologies. As UK science and innovation minister, my core mission is to ensure we continue to support this cluster with continued investment in great science and infrastructure for better connectivity to spread opportunities across the eastern region and learn the lessons from Cambridge to help grow the other emerging clusters around the whole of the UK.
“Bringing the kind of high-tech jobs and economic prosperity Cambridge has enjoyed to other parts of the UK is key to our ‘levelling up’ commitment, and thanks to the work being done here we have an excellent blueprint to put the infrastructure in place to make that happen.
“Cambridge has shown what’s possible.”
Cambridge Biomedical Campus director Kristin-Anne Rutter called the visit “fantastic”.
