The proposal was coordinated by PMBRC with collaborators workLab Ltd., Waterford City and County Council, local entrepreneurs and enterprise supports
A project co-ordinated by a WIT research centre is one of three in the South east to receive Government funding. Incupharm DAC in Waterford will provide bespoke laboratory space to support life sciences start-ups in the South East.
The proposal was coordinated by WIT’s Pharmaceutical and Molecular Biotechnology Research Centre (PMBRC) along with collaborators workLab Ltd., Waterford City and County Council, local enterprise supports and local entrepreneurs from the pharma and MedTech sectors.
Life science incubator
Dr Niall O'Reilly, Manager, Pharmaceutical and Molecular Biotechnology Research Centre (PMBRC), WIT said: “On behalf of the Incupharm team I am delighted to welcome the news that funding has been offered for a life science incubator in the South East. The region has a strong pharmaceutical and medical device industry, with over 8,000 directly employed in the sector. The incubator will therefore play to regional strengths and will be connected to the wider business, research and innovation supports of the region and beyond. It is our vision to transform the South East into a lifescience innovation hub, particularly for indigenous start-up companies”.
The project has been offered funding as part of the second round of the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, an open national competitive call to support regional projects, delivered for the Government through Enterprise Ireland.
The winners were selected through a rigorous evaluation process based on criteria which included impacts and value for money, collaboration and participation, viability and sustainability, building regional strengths and significance for innovation.
Project Ireland 2040
Altogether 21 successful applicants representing all regions of the country secured just over €29m for their projects in the second call for proposals under the competitive fund. Initially allocated €60m for two rounds of funding, the fund will now operate on a rolling basis as part of Project Ireland 2040.
Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan, TD said: “This morning in Navan, Minister Heather Humphreys announced the results of Call 2 of the Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF). I am very pleased to note that there are a number of successful projects in the South East that have been approved funding today”.
Strong regional ecosystem
Martin Corkery, Regional Director – South East, Enterprise Ireland said: “Supporting enterprises to build scale and expand reach is a key focus of Enterprise Ireland and the Regional Enterprise Development Fund helps us to further drive growth in key sectors in counties across the country, particularly in the context of Brexit. This second call which was launched in May attracted very strong interest, receiving a total of 77 applications. The successful applicants represent a broad range of projects across a variety of sectors including food, agri-tech and lifesciences. Our aim is to build on a strong regional ecosystem to include a variety of companies and sectoral clusters with best in class physical and digital infrastructure and appropriate research and technology capability.
Details of the Regional Enterprise Development Fund are on Enterprise Ireland’s website www.enterprise-ireland.com/REDF
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