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GSK named as Investor of the Year
LIFE SCIENCES SCOTLAND AWARDS DINNER 2013 WINNERS GLAXOSMITHKLINE
GLAXOSMITHKLINE (GSK) was named one of the winners at a recent national awards ceremony for the life sciences industry.
The company took the award for Investment of the Year at the Scottish Enterprise Life Sciences Awards following its announcement last year that £100 million will be spent across its two Scottish sites at Montrose and Irvine.
The annual awards ceremony, held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre last week, was attended by over 700 people from the global life sciences community.
GSK’s investment will create around 100 new jobs and will be used to make the Irvine site a centre of excellence for the production of antibiotics, as well as backing the development of respiratory medicines and vaccines in Montrose and increasing the firm’s move to sustainable green energy production. More than half of the jobs created were to be in Montrose, which the company said would set the factory and its 250 employees on a secure foundation for years.
The company announced a £500 million investment programme following last year’s Budget in which the UK Government introduced a ‘patent box’ to encourage investment in research and development and related manufacturing in the UK, with a lower rate of corporation tax on profits generated from UK-owned intellectual property.
Due to the high level of competition in the Investment category, the award was won jointly by GSK and NuCana BioMed Limited. GSK was also shortlisted for the Life Sciences Business Leadership and Community Engagement awards.
The ceremony recognised the success and achievements of Scotland’s internationally renowned life sciences sector as well as focusing on the continuing work of Scottish Enterprise and its partners to develop a sustainable, globally competitive life sciences sector in Scotland.
The country’s life sciences industry already contributes more than £3 billion a year to the Scottish economy with more than 650 organisations employing over 32,000 people. It is recognised globally for its high levels of innovation – translating ideas and research into novel treatments and world-leading therapies.
Announcing the winners, Rhona Allison, senior director of life sciences at Scottish Enterprise, said: “Congratulations to this year’s winners. The quality of candidates for these awards continues to go from strength to strength with each successive year and is testament to Scotland’s reputation as an international hub of life sciences expertise.
Montrose site director Andy Ross, who received the award from Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Health & Well-being, said the award is a positive reflection on both the company and its staff.
He said: “It is very much recognition of the continued commitment shown by GSK to manufacturing in Scotland, which in turn is a reflection of its belief and trust in the commitment and capability of the staff at both sites.”
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Weather for Montrose
Tuesday 21 May 2013
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