Oxford’s West End a new frontier of homegrown science, says Science Minister Vallance

Oxford’s West End is emerging as a new frontier of British science and technology, the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation said on Thursday, lending support to a £600 million vision that will see the emergence of a new urban district providing critical infrastructure for UK innovation.

Speaking at the topping out ceremony of Fabrica, the second phase and largest building being brought forward in the West End, Oxford’s emerging urban science district, Lord Patrick Vallance told an audience of senior industry leaders, investors, founders and academics that inner-city science districts present an exciting opportunity to build and retain world-class companies on home soil.

“The UK must not be a place where companies start, but do not grow”, he said. Vallance was joined by Professor Constantin Coussios OBE, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Oxford and co-founder of Oxford spinout OrganOx known for globally renowned liver transplantation technology, co-founder of LSE-listed Oxford Nanopore Gordon Sanghera, and Founder & CEO of Mission Street Artem Korolev.

The Minister’s comments arrive after AstraZeneca’s confirmed a £300m commitment to drugs development in the UK, as the Government makes strides in enticing international investors to the country’s science and tech sectors which are together valued at over £1 trillion.

Organised by investor and developer Mission Street and Oxford University Innovation (OUI), the innovation partner of Oxford University, the event, Celebration of Science, included a showcase of companies across life sciences, AI, and materials science, including  Albus Health, Flexys, Infinitopes, Macrocosm, Nucleome Therapeutics, Orbit Discovery, OxCan, Oxford Semantic Technologies, Porpoise Power, Serox and Yellowstone Biosciences.

Mission Street’s vision for Oxford’s West End is what the company’s Founder and Chief Executive Artem Korolev describes as one of the most comprehensive urban science districts in Europe, providing dedicated space for UK and international R&D companies, families and the local Oxford community.

The wider West End opportunity is a transformative urban regeneration initiative, in close proximity to Oxford station, and future East West Rail links that can deliver world-class R&D facilities, strong public-private academic partnerships and attract national and international talent, which will be further supported by the University of Oxford planning a 500,000 sq ft Engineering Campus and the emerging deep tech cluster in this part of the City.

The first steps of that vision is already underway with the completion of Inventa in Central Oxford and neighbouring Fabrica, which Mission Street is delivering in partnership with leading international Investor BGO.  Inventa is already home to companies that are creating critical solutions to science and technology fields as varied as genomics to AI infrastructure.

Artem Korolev, Founder & CEO, Mission Street, said:

“The West End of Oxford has all the right chemistry to become a globally-leading destination for innovative companies founded at home or abroad. We intend to invest for the long-term in its success, providing the space that is essential for pioneering innovators to scale, to commercialise, and to make their mark on the world.”

Adam Workman, Head of Investments & New Ventures, Oxford University Innovation said:

“Oxford has a remarkable track record of producing world-changing innovation, and that innovation deserves the space, infrastructure and investment needed to grow and thrive here in Oxfordshire. As the innovation partner of the University of Oxford, and based in Oxford’s West End ourselves, OUI knows that developments like this are a vital part of helping ventures to scale and succeed locally.”