A BIOSCEINCE company in York has been given £19,000 by the Government to fund the arrival of a Russian scientist to help it in its quest for cures for cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
The money will be used to fund Dr Igor Granovskiy's specialist equipment and expenses on a six-month visit to Yorkshire Bioscience Ltd (YORBIO) at York Science Park's Biocentre.
During his stay, which began a fortnight ago, Dr Granovskiy will aim to help the company to become the first in the UK to manufacture "competent cells", one of the essential tools used for genetic engineering.
E.coli bacteria may cause food poisoning, but competent cells derived from the germs can be used for research into a wide range of life-saving uses, from finding cures for cancer, diabetes and heart disease to developing disease-resistant crops, waste treatment processes and pollution prevention.
Dr Granovskiy joins YORBIO from the Russian Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Micro-organisms, based at Pushchino, 60 miles south of Moscow, considered a world-class centre of excellence in the area of biotechnology.
Liz Chambers, adviser for the DTI's secondments programme, which granted the award, said: "Dr Granovskiy's secondment provides an excellent opportunity for high level technology and knowledge transfer and will give UK scientists access to a high value product."
Science City York, the business support organisation for technology-based companies, welcomed Dr Granovskiy's secondment, particularly as it worked with YORBIO from the early stages of the project, helping to get it off the ground with a £10,000 loan from the York Innovation Fund.
Carolyn Randall, Science City York's business promoter, said: "This is the sort of opportunity we need in order to encourage crucial high-level technology transfer. "Consequently, this is an excellent opportunity not only for YORBIO, but also the wider scientific community.
"In the short time YORBIO has been in business it has become a real asset to the scientific community, building up a strong client base locally and further afield.''
Updated: 10:41 Tuesday, May 10, 2005
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