A CALIFORNIAN company will create 43 jobs at a base at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, as part of a £10.5 million investment in life sciences, supported by Scottish Enterprise. The move was announced by Scotland’s Economy Secretary, Keith Brown during his visit to the US and Canada.

BioClavis is a new spin-out from Californian molecular profiling firm Biospyder, to be based at the Clinical Innovation Zone at the hospital.

BioSpyder’s investment has been supported by a £4.5m Seek & Solve research and development grant from Scottish Enterprise. It forms part of a total investment of £10.5m, which will see BioClavis adapt BioSpyder’s TempO-Seq platform technology into a diagnostic tool for precision medicine in high-value clinical indications, in close collaboration with the health service and university researchers.

Brown said: “This is an exciting time for life sciences businesses in Scotland. The sector is strong and continuing to grow – providing employment for more than 37,000 people. This announcement is evidence of this and I’m delighted BioSpyder has chosen to base its new spin-out, BioClavis, in Scotland, where it will take forward a new project in precision medicine with our health service and universities.”

Joel McComb, CEO of BioSpyder and BioClavis, said: “We’re very excited to build on the success we’ve had in other molecular profiling applications and bring this novel method to bear on discovery and deployment of next generation genomic diagnostics. We determined Glasgow to be the ideal location for this initiative based in large part on the support and close working relationships with Scottish Enterprise, the NHS and the university.”

Earlier in the week, Brown met with another life sciences inward investor Acadian Seaplants, which recently acquired Uist Asco, a seaweed business on North Uist. He said: “The recent acquisition of Uist Asco by Acadian Seaplants shows investment from North American companies is having an impact the length and breadth of the country.

Acadian Seaplants is a world-leader in the processing of seaweed-based products and it’s great to see them bringing their skills, knowledge and expertise to Scotland.” Nova Scotia’s Acadian Seaplants is a global, bio-tech company and the largest independent manufacturer of marine-plant products of its type in the world. Uist Asco provides Acadian Seaplants a greater presence in Europe, complementing their operation in Kilkieran, Ireland. At the time of the acquisition its president, Jean-Paul Deveau, said: “I would like to acknowledge the achievements of Raghnall Maclain who, with the support of his family, has brought Uist Asco to this stage of development.

“We are very much looking forward to continuing this time-honoured tradition by sharing our technologies, expertise and making the investments necessary to address any challenges to ensure the local seaweed industry prospers.”

Welcoming the investments Paul Lewis, managing director of Scottish Development International, said: “Scotland continues to be a leading location for foreign direct investment and these two latest investments reflect our expertise in the life sciences sector, the skills of our people and the quality of our business environment.

“We look forward to working with BioSpyder, BioClavis and Arcadian Seaplants as they become the newest members of Scotland’s growing inward investment community.”