A “world-leading centre” for excellence in regenerative medicine and stem cells is to be built in Edinburgh, Scotland. The $114 million Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM) will be developed by the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Scottish Enterprise.

The SCRM, which will be part of the new Centre for Biomedical Research at Edinburgh's Little France and is to create 560 new jobs, will be unique in Europe and is thought to be equalled only by Kobe in Japan on a global level.

In providing state-of-the-art research facilities, manufacturing capacity and commercialisation facilities, the SCRM will be able to offer high-quality accommodation to support 220 academic researchers, a centre for 'scale-up' development and manufacturing of cells and a multi-occupancy space to house commercial regenerative medicine research organisations and spin-outs. The Scottish Executive will provide support for the SCRM with more than $46 million in funding.

First Minister Jack McConnell said the creation of this centre will “position Scotland as the leading UK and European location for this vital area of medical development, while also acting as a strong magnet to attract the best scientists, clinicians and regenerative medicine companies to our country."

The estimated completion date is 2010 and apart from the Executive’s funding, the University of Edinburgh is putting in $37 million and the rest will come from Scottish Enterprise.