Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC) is a not-for-profit company formed in 2012 through a collaboration between Government, GlaxoSmithKline and Wellcome. SBC’s vision is to accelerate the translation of cutting-edge science to improve the health and quality of people’s lives. It is home to over 45 businesses specialising in R&D for treatments of human diseases such as cancer and neurological disorders. The Campus is co-located with GSK and includes the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Centre and LifeArc. Early stage start-ups receive six months free lab and office space in combination with access to equipment, at the Lab Hotel, a collaborative facility dedicated to supporting young companies’ health innovations. GSK provides dedicated business and science advisors who offer 1-2-1 support for start-ups based at SBC. Since 2012, business based at SBC have raised over £4bn in funding, with seven major exits. More recently, SBC attracted Forge (UBS and Reef partnership) to locate one of Europe’s largest science parks, Elevate Quarter, a £900m development plan to create 1.6m sq ft of world class office and laboratory space and 5,000 new jobs over the next ten years.
