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New book celebrates the success of Milton Park’s life sciences cluster
Milton Park is home to Oxfordshire’s largest life sciences cluster and the successful growth of the sector was celebrated in January with the launch of a very special book.
An Evolution: The Story of the Milton Park Life Sciences Cluster was unveiled to an audience of more than 90 people at an OBN BioTuesday event at Milton Park’s Innovation Centre, where the growth of Oxford BioCluster companies was showcased.
Through a series of 10 case studies, the beautifully-illustrated book tells the story of the evolution of the life sciences cluster at Milton Park. It includes interviews with senior executives of some of the highest growth life sciences companies and a foreword by Lord Heseltine, who opened the first business development offices in 1993.
MEPC commercial director Andrew Barlow, said: “While Milton Park is home to a diverse range of businesses, the life sciences cluster is at its core and this is about celebrating its success.
“We wanted it to be a story from the sector itself, which is why we commissioned the Oxford BioSciences Network to write the book for us. There are some fantastic science stories going on here and we wanted to promote ourselves and the wider Oxfordshire region as a thriving centre of life sciences activity.
“It is a story of how 30 years of investment, management expertise and commitment have made the park an attractive destination
Green double deckers boost sustainability
People working on Milton Park can now take advantage of two new hybrid double decker buses that have been part funded by the Government’s Green Bus Fund.
Courtney buses, Milton Park’s bus operators, successfully won £100,000 funding for the new buses in round four of the Green Bus fund, where £20 million was made available from the Department for Transport’s budget.
Dawn Crawford, travel manager at Milton Park, explains: "Working closely with Courtney, we were able to demonstrate a robust and rigorous case for the Milton Park shuttle buses to receive investment from the Green Bus Fund.
“MEPC is focused on delivering sustainable
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in our lifecycle and our aim is to continue our success well into the future.”
There are some 50 life sciences companies on Milton Park, including those specialising in biotech, pharma, diagnostics and medical technology. Among those featured in the book are powerful names such as Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which has invested over £20 million in its facilities; Oxford Immunotec, which has seen 60% growth over the past three years; and Oxitec, an Oxford University spin-out which focuses on the use of genetically sterile insects to control the spread of human and plant diseases.
OBN is the membership organisation for life science companies and its CEO Jon Rees, told the audience that he hoped the book could be used to promote Milton Park’s life sciences cluster across the UK and abroad.
James Dipple, director of MEPC
for these businesses, not just in terms of buildings, but for networking and collaboration too.
“The book is titled ‘An Evolution’ because we never stop. We already have very high occupancy and we need to continue to build to meet demand, which is why we have plans underway for new developments and enterprise zones. This is a very exciting time
“Milton Park is unique, as we know of no other business park in the UK that can count as many as 50 life science companies amongst its tenants. This enterprising scientific community has evolved thanks to the long- term vision of MEPC and its founders and I am delighted that this book begins what will be a long running series which will celebrate its success,” he said.
Among those presenting on the evening were Julian Golec, senior vice president R&D, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe), Bill Fleming, CFO of Oxitec, and Richard Law, vice president business development Evotec (UK).
transport options and these hybrid vehicles will give our customers a proven way to make their individual journey to work a better choice for the environment."
The new double deckers, ADL Enviro 400H, were made and designed by Alexander Dennis in Falkirk, Scotland, and have CO2 deductions of 38% and represent the most
fuel efficient, low carbon vehicles in the EU.
Norman Baker, Green Bus Fund transport minister, said: “Cutting carbon emissions from transport is not a choice, it is a necessity and that is why I am prioritising green buses and giving operators and local authorities an extra £20m to deliver this.”
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – FEBRUARY 2014
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