Regional science policy and the growth of knowledge megacentres in bioscience clusters



go hand in hand in geographical proximity. Cambridge has the strongest case for being
considered a potential megacentre at present. Cambridge has a rather diverse
biotechnology processing and development as well as services support structure, even
though the industry is relatively young and small. Some of the service infrastructure
and perhaps the equipment sector benefits from the earlier development of Information
Technology businesses, many also spinning out from university research in
Cambridge. The infrastructure support for biotechnology in and around Cambridge is
impressive, much of it deriving from the university and hospital research facilities.
The Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Addenbrookes Hospital, funded by the
Medical Research Council; Cambridge University’s Institute of Biotechnology,
Department of Genetics and Centre for Protein Engineering; the Babraham Institute
and Sanger Institute with their emphasis on functional genomics research and the
Babraham and St. John’s incubators for biotechnology start-ups and
commercialisation, are all globally-recognised facilities, particularly in
biopharmaceuticals. However, in the region are also located important research
institutes in the field of agricultural and food biotechnology, such as the Institute for
Food Research, John Innes Centre, Institute of Arable Crop Research and National
Institute of Arable Botany. Its core biotechnology industry consists of approximately
90 firms and the broader cluster (venture capitalists, patent lawyers etc.) consists of
approximately 200 firms, with the core biotechnology firms employing 2,500-3,000
people. Of relevance to the biotechnology community are the activities of the Eastern
Region Biotechnology Initiative. This biotechnology association is the main regional
network with formal responsibilities for: newsletters, organising network meetings;
running an international conference; web-site; sourcebook and database on the
bioscience industry; providing aftercare services for bio-businesses; making intra- and
inter-national links (e.g. Oxford, Boston, San Diego); organising common purchasing;
business planning seminars; and government and grant-related interactions for firms.

Munich seems to have become a more significant biotechnology player in recent
times, particularly since the onset of BioRegio in 1995. It was well established in
exploration knowledge institutions but like the rest of Germany, weak in exploitation
mechanisms. This seems to have been re-balanced but it is too soon to say how
significantly as key second-round funding demands are only in 2002 coming on-
stream. The science base in Munich is broad, but with special expertise in health-
26



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