The chancellor has announced a £5m fund for a medicines techonology centre at Alderley Park.
Tatton MP George Osborne visited Redx pharmaceuticals at the science park to announce the fund to create the ‘catapult’ centre, which would see scientists and businesses working together to bring drugs to market more quickly.
Mr Osborne said the move helps put Alderley Park at the centre of his ‘Northern Powerhouse’ - a term he uses to describe the government bid to boost the economy in the north.
Catapult centres were launched in 2011 to bring businesses and researchers together with the aim of helping start-ups bring ideas to market that might struggle because of a lack of funding, expertise or facilities.
Mr Osborne said: “This will help put the UK in a world leading position to support every single stage of the life sciences innovation life cycle and is exactly what is needed to develop the next generation of unbeatable British leaders in this area.
“It’s a real vote of confidence in the north west. The Northern Powerhouse is the best place for it.
“The day AstraZeneca told me they were thinking of moving hundreds of jobs away from Alderley Park was one of my most difficult days as an MP and Chancellor. I couldn’t have imagined then that out of that piece of bad news would come so much good news.”
AstraZeneca announced in March 2013 its plans to stop research and development at the site.
Since then the 400-acre site has been taken over by Manchester Science Partnerships - with a 10per cent stake owned by Cheshire East - to create a new bioscience hub. There are now around 40 life science companies operating at the site, around 3,000 people.
Cheshire East council leader Michael Jones welcomed the announcement and said the new centre would create around 50 jobs, growing to many hundreds into the future.
Coun Jones said: “It’s brilliant news. The centre will be a conglomerate of quality experts in the field, working together to make a leap forward in drug development. That benefits everyone in the country.
“It allows us to continue to develop the Biohub at Alderley Park. Cheshire East is the gateway to the northern powerhouse. We have huge growth and big plans for housing and jobs and Alderley Park is at the heart of that.”
