Today, Oxford PharmaGenesis celebrated the official opening of its Cardiff office with an event at Life Sciences Hub Wales, Cardiff Bay, where the First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones attended as guest of honour.
The First Minister said: “Wales’ Life Sciences sector is dynamic and diverse, employing around 11 000 people in over 350 companies. We are committed to developing the sector further, which is why we have provided up to £220 000 to support the opening of PharmaGenesis’ new Cardiff office that will provide 20 exciting new jobs for highly skilled scientists in Wales. As members of the Life Sciences Hub, PharmaGenesis is part of Wales’ central nucleus for the sector, which brings together businesses, academics and funders to encourage innovation and collaboration to create increased investment and job opportunities.”
Founded in 1998, Oxford PharmaGenesis is a global, independently owned HealthScience communications consultancy, providing high-quality medical writing and strategic consultancy services to the pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechnology industries. In 2015, it won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Outstanding Achievement in International Trade.
Dr Richard White, Commercial Director, said: “Oxford PharmaGenesis is proud to be the first international company in the medical communications sector to establish an office in Wales. The opening of our Cardiff office is an indicator that we are leaders in our field, and it marks the latest success in the company’s 19 years of consistent growth.”
Dr Ian Barwick, Chief Operating Officer of the Life Sciences Hub, said: “We are proud to welcome Oxford PharmaGenesis as one of the most recent newcomers to the Welsh life sciences community. Wales has a vibrant and diverse life sciences sector that is of huge value to the Welsh economy and we look forward to Oxford PharmaGenesis being a part of that exciting future. The medical writing and consulting services that they provide will be a valuable addition to life sciences businesses right across Wales, and it’s reassuring to know that their decision to locate here was influenced by the presence of the Life Sciences Hub Wales.”
Peter Llewellyn, Director of NetworkPharma, said: “Over the past 10 years while I’ve been developing the MedComms Networking activity, the agencies, which had been highly localized in a few specific areas such as Oxford, Macclesfield and London, have grown strongly and established new hubs of activity across the UK, particularly in Sussex, Kent, Cambridgeshire and, more recently, in Scotland around Glasgow. It’s great that we’re now seeing companies like Oxford PharmaGenesis reaching into Wales and tapping into the rich scientific talent pool that exists within the academic and business communities in and around Cardiff.”
As a new member of Life Sciences Hub Wales, PharmaGenesis Cardiff will work with the local life sciences business community to bring new medicines and healthcare technologies to patients in areas of unmet need. The company will also engage with local universities to highlight medical communications as a rewarding career path for scientists who want to stay at the cutting edge of science, and its new staff will gain specialist skills that are applicable in the global marketplace. The new office is located within the Cardiff Business Technology Centre (CBTC), Senghennydd Road, on the edge of the Cardiff University campus.
