HIE invests Over £1m in Diabetes Testing And Treatment Projects
19th March 2011
Projects aiming to improve treatment for people with diabetes are to receive almost £1.2 million from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
The funding will support LifeScan Scotland's cutting edge research and development work in Inverness.
LifeScan Scotland is investing in researching the next generation of its products, including high performance diabetes test kits.
Part of the Johnson and Johnson family of companies, the business is Scotland's largest private sector employer in the growing life sciences sector.
With diabetes now one of the fastest growing medical conditions in the world, LifeScan Scotland is committed to leading the field in researching and developing new products for its customers.
Martin Johnson, Inner Moray Firth Area Manager for HIE, said, "LifeScan is a world leader in research and development for diabetes and these latest developments will help to reaffirm this position.
"Conducting this research at the Beechwood and Centre for Health Science sites will ensure that the LifeScan R&D department in Inverness in particular retains its reputation for creating market-leading and innovative products.
"In the life sciences sector, over 50 organisations employ approximately 1,800 full time-equivalent staff in the Highlands and Islands, and provide salaries totalling £49 million. Most businesses in the sector are relatively small, with fewer than 20 employees.
"HIE supports a number of these smaller companies across the region, and many of them are underpinned by the presence of LifeScan and the Centre for Health Science in Inverness."
"We are also hosting the next instalment in our P4 Digital Healthcare series, with a conference at the Centre for Health Science in May.
"Speakers include leaders from LifeScan, Vodafone, NHS24 and Professor Dame Wendy Hall of the Web Science Trust. HIE is continuing to play a central role in helping forge collaborative links between the worlds of healthcare, science and business."
