Schering injects $30M into Scotland biotech sector

Schering-Plough says it will invest $60 million to support early drug discovery technologies for research and development operations in Scotland, the U.S. and the Netherlands. The company says $30 million of the investment is set to be injected into its Newhouse, Lanarkshire facility in Scotland, the core of its central nervous system research. Schering acquired the facility from Organon Biosciences when it bought the company [1] for $14.4 billion in 2007.

"Schering-Plough's decision to make this substantial investment in its Newhouse facility is a welcome boost for Scotland's life science industry," said John Swinney, cabinet secretary for finance and sustainable growth of Scottish Enterprise Life Sciences. "It underlines the high quality of the company's Scottish workforce and shows there are reasons to be optimistic about prospects for Scotland's economy."

The investment comes as welcome revalization for Scotland's fledging biotech sector. "This investment is excellent news for both Scotland and our fast growing life sciences sector, particularly within the current economic environment," said Jack Perry, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise. In response, the Scottish government offered Schering a £4.1 million RSA grant while Scottish Enterprise continues to help Schering maximize operations at the facility.

- check out the release
[2]- read more [3] in The Herald

Related Article:
Scotland - Top regions for biotech [4]
Schering-Plough pays $14.4B for Organon [1]