2nd May 2013

£100m life sciences fund makes first investment

The new £100m Wales Life Sciences Investment Fund has made its maiden investment in Merthyr Tydfil-based Simbec Research.

Two previous directors, Howard Jenkins and Trevor Tanner, have acquired the company from its former parent, the Canadian Altasciences Group, to make it an independent Welsh company once more.

The deal is the first investment for Wales’ new life sciences fund, which was announced by Professor Sir Chris Evans in March. The fund is managed by Arthurian.

Simbec currently employs about 90 members of staff and plans to expand to employ more than 100 staff with the backing of the fund.

Professor Trevor Jones, board director at Arthurian and former head of research and development at Wellcome, will become chairman of Simbec and Sir Chris Evans will also join Simbec’s board.

Howard Jenkins, who has become Simbec’s chief executive, said: “We will continue to work with the world’s leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies specialising in the early clinical development of new pharmaceuticals.

“This new partnership with the Wales Life Sciences Fund is a major step towards creating an invigorated and more dynamic company and we look forward to a highly stimulating period of growth for Wales and for all involved.”

Sir Chris added: “We had been watching developments at Simbec very closely and had to move fast to secure this deal once the Canadian owners had decided to sell.

“We are pleased we were able to anchor this company in Wales and preserve this very significant number of skilled jobs. This is a good Welsh-based clinicals business and the extensive Arthurian networks should be able to contribute significantly to the growth of Simbec’s commercial activities in the near future.”

Economy minister Edwina Hart said: “The fund is a key component of our strategy to support the growth of the life sciences sector in Wales, one of our key priority sectors with the potential to make a significant contribution to the Welsh economy.”