Edinburgh BioQuarter

Land for a new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in the Little France area of Edinburgh was procured under a Private Finance Initiative contract in 1998. The hospital moved from its previous city centre location in 2003.[2] The Chancellor's Building of the University of Edinburgh Medical School opened on the same site in 2002.[3]

In 2007, Scottish Enterprise completed a series of land deals which cleared a 55-acre site for development adjacent to the existing Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and the creation of the BioQuarter was announced.[4] The initial key partners in the Edinburgh BioQuarter initiative were Scottish Enterprise/Scottish Development International, the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian. In early 2010, Dr Mike Capaldi joined BioQuarter as Commercialisation Director and the development of an executive team and business creation programme were launched.[5] Later that year, the Queen's Medical Research Institute (QMRI) was opened, with the aim of addressing major disease challenges in Cardiovascular Science, Inflammation Research, Regenerative Medicine and Reproductive Health.[6]

In August 2010, author JK Rowling endowed research at the BioQuarter with a £10 million gift to create the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic.[7] The clinic was officially opened in October 2013.[8]

In 2011, the BioQuarter was joined by the Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM), dedicated to the study and development of new regenerative treatments for human diseases.[6][9] The CRM building was officially opened by the Princess Royal on 28 May 2012.[10]

Edinburgh BioQuarter's first commercial facility, Nine, was established in 2012; this was joined in 2016 by Nine A, housing the Centre for Dementia Prevention.[6]

In 2017, Edinburgh Council joined Edinburgh BioQuarter as a new key partner.[6][11]

An extension of the Edinburgh Trams network connecting Edinburgh BioQuarter to the city centre (Line 3) had been proposed in 2001 but was shelved due to lack of Scottish Parliament approval. However, plans for a similar extension were revived in 2019 as part of a project to transform transport in Edinburgh city centre.[12]

An artist's impression of the Centre for Regenerative Medicine

Facilities at Edinburgh BioQuarter include:

• the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, a teaching hospital with >900 beds.
• the Chancellor's Building, University of Edinburgh Medical School.
• the Queen's Medical Research Institute (QMRI). The QMRI houses part of the Edinburgh Imaging Facility (until 2017, the Clinical Research Imaging Centre), opened by HM the Duke of Edinburgh in October 2010.[13]
• the Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM), which applies stem cell research to find new therapies for conditions such including multiple sclerosis and heart and liver disease.[14][15][16]
• the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, specialising in paediatric healthcare. The hospital was due to open in July 2019,[17] but was delayed due to faults in the air conditioning and drainage systems.[18] As of August 2020, the hospital remains under construction.[19]

Companies at Edinburgh BioQuarter include:[20]

• Fios Genomics – genomic and bioinformatics data analysis services for drug discovery & development.[21]
• RoslinCT - GMP contract manufacturing and development organisation, originally founded as Roslin Cells in 2006.[22]
• Aquila BioMedical Ltd.
• Calcivis.
• Edinburgh Molecular Imaging.

• Midlothian BioCampus, a nearby life sciences enterprise area
• Inverness Campus, Highland

• Edinburgh BioQuarter homepage