The Babraham Institute, a biotech research unit of Cambridge University, has announced the creation of a new commercialisation vehicle backed by a £44m ($67m) government grant.
Babraham Commercialisation Services (BCS) will support the knowledge exchange and commercialisation activities of the institute, already home to around 45 biomedical companies at its research campus. The campus is also home to Cancer Research UK’s commercialisation unit.
The institute is using the £44m UK Government grant, awarded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) in 2011, to both expand its campus and support its new commercialisation activities.
Dr Katy Evans-Roberts (pictured) will lead in as the commercialisation manager for BCS. She said the project was “not just about spin-outs and licensing, but also industry collaborations,” adding that BBSRC and its existing licensing incomes will provide seed money for the right opportunities.