Bioscience York is celebrating its tenth anniversary in York tomorrow with a special symposium, where ten innovative bioscience businesses from across North Yorkshire will be describing their success and aspirations for the future.

The half-day symposium, at the Yorkshire Museum, in York's Museum Gardens, will also display the work of a further ten businesses, and more than 100 delegates are expected to attend the event and a gala dinner at the Merchant Adventurers' Hall, York, in the evening.

Over the last decade, Bioscience York has become one of the most dynamic and fastest growing bioscience clusters in the UK, comprising over 150 organisations in York and North Yorkshire, contributing cutting-edge research and technology that is being exported all over the world.

In York, there are more than 50 bioscience organisations, which together employ 3,700 people.

Bioscience is now one of the largest and fastest-growing industry sectors in the global economy, generating over EU 16 billion annually in Europe alone.

The cluster, which was established in 1995, was the brainchild of a small group of academics and industry leaders, who believed that York and North Yorkshire - with a critical mass of 1,500 bioscience researchers and an investment of £18 million since 1991 - had the expertise and potential to become one of the most successful bioscience networks in the UK.

Its marked success over the last ten years has been built on strong links between business and academic institutions. The University of York provides leading-edge research, specialist facilities and a highly skilled workforce.

This, coupled with the region's strong infrastructure and specialist business support services, has developed into a thriving community.

Updated: 10:20 Wednesday, November 30, 2005