UK-India summit: Serum Institute set to invest 240 million pound in Britain

LONDON: The Serum Institute of India (SII) will invest GBP 240 million in the UK to expand its vaccine business and set up a new sales office creating a large number of jobs, Downing Street has announced as part of plans for a GBP 1 billion India-UK Enhanced Trade Partnership creating around 6,500 jobs in Britain.

The Pune-based vaccine manufacturer is among a list of nearly 20 Indian companies across sectors such as healthcare, biotech and software services to announce significant investment plans in the UK.

It was also revealed that the Serum Institute of India (SII) has started phase one trials in the UK of a nasal vaccine against coronavirus.

The sales office is expected to generate new business worth over USD 1 billion, GBP 200 million of which will be invested into the UK, Downing Street said on Monday in reference to SII’s plans for the UK market.

Serum’s investment will support clinical trials, research and development and possibly manufacturing of vaccines. This will help the UK and the world to defeat the coronavirus pandemic and other deadly diseases. Serum has already started phase one trials in the UK of a one-dose nasal vaccine for coronavirus, in partnership with Codagenix INC, it said.

In the field of healthcare, another Indian investment highlight includes GBP 59 million by biotech firm Global Gene Corp over the next five years.

It will create 110 highly skilled jobs in the UK, mostly based in the R&D centre at Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridge, which is the site of the Human Genome Project.

I’m very pleased that Global Gene Corp has decided to join the legions of Indian companies investing in the UK, boosting our healthcare sector and driving economic growth, said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a statement.

Sumit Jamuar, Chairman & CEO of Global Gene Corp, said the ambition with the investment is to make an exponential leap into the healthcare of the future through genomics from discovering the next generation of drugs to precision medicine a task “even more critical” in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UK is at the forefront of the genomics revolution with her Genome UK strategy. We are delighted to be investing in cutting-edge capabilities at the intersection of genomics and machine learning to achieve our vision, he said.

Invest India CEO Deepak Bagla said in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Ayushmaan Bharat and National Healthcare Mission, “we truly believe that the genomic revolution will have an impact on the lives of billions. Global Gene Corp will make this revolution a reality”.

Other Indian investments announced on Monday ahead of a virtual summit between Johnson and Modi on Tuesday include Q-Rich Creations at GBP 54 million, creating 667 UK jobs; Wipro at GBP 16 million, creating 500 jobs; I2 Agro at GBP 30 million, creating 465 jobs; Mastek creating 357 jobs; and Sterlite Technologies at GBP 15 million, creating 150 jobs.

Some of the others on the list of Indian investments include SNVA Ventures at GBP 10 million, creating 200 jobs; Skillmine at GBP 11 million, creating 100 jobs; CtrlS Data Centers at GBP 10 million, creating 100 jobs; Que Processing Services at GBP 10 million, creating 100 jobs; Cron Systems at GBP 20 million, creating 100 jobs; TVS Motors-Norton creating 89 jobs; Prime Focus Technologies creating 70 jobs; Route Mobile at GBP 20 million, creating 50 jobs; and Goila Butter Chicken at GBP 3 million, creating 40 jobs.

Downing Street said the announcement of over 6,500 additional UK jobs and GBP 1 billion of new trade with India is based on company commitments and estimates from UK-India exports and investments following extensive engagement from the Department for International Trade officials.

An Enhanced Trade Partnership between India and the UK, which will be signed off during the prime ministerial virtual summit, also covers around 20 export deals clinched by British firms.

These include Morningside Pharmaceuticals researching, developing and licencing new pharma products; Polymateria’s biotransformation technology, which enables plastics to become fully biodegradable, in a deal worth GBP 75 million in UK exports over the next five years; CMR surgical in a deal worth GBP 200 million creating 100 new UK jobs; Kloudpad with critical hardware and software bespoke data centres, deal worth GBP 15 million; and Vidrona drone surveying equipment and AI technology.

Among the others are KIGG systems smart meter test benches for electricity distribution companies; CyanConnode deal worth GBP 18 mn creating 30 new UK jobs; GoZero Mobility deal worth GBP 3.2 mn for e-bicycles; Agvesto deal worth GBP 3 mn; Revolut expansion into India creating 60 UK jobs; CDE Asia deal worth GBP 500,000; and Bio Products Laboratory biopharmaceutical finished products for rare bleeding disorders, deal worth GBP 62 mn.

The export pacts also cover Kwalee British video game producer expansion in India creating 25 new UK jobs; Shorts TV digital entertainment platform forecasting exports worth GBP 8 mn; Clancy Global a One Evolve Ecosystem deal worth GBP 2.5 mn; Astropol colour and additive solutions for the vinyl, non-vinyl and associated additive industries, deal worth GBP 12 mn; Surgease deal worth GBP 14.9 mn creating 100 new UK jobs; Oxvent deal worth GBP 20 mn; Eagle Genomics deal worth GBP 12 mn creating 165 UK jobs; and BP’s partnership with Infosys to decarbonise Infosys’ 11 campuses across India.

Source: Press Trust of India