Princess gives royal seal of approval to pioneering bio-medical facilities  

Research into conditions such as multiple sclerosis and heart and liver disease can now benefit from research carried out at the new £54 million Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM) which was opened by HRH the Princess Royal at the Edinburgh BioQuarter. With accommodation for up to 250 stem cell scientists, the centre, funded by the University of Edinburgh, Scottish Enterprise, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the British Heart Foundation through its Mending Broken Hearts Appeal, was opened by the Princess Royal in her role as Chancellor of the University. It includes the most up-to-date facilities in the UK for manufacture of stem cell lines that could be used for patient therapies.

The SCRM, together with the recently opened £24 million bio-incubator facility, Nine which offers facilities for both established companies and start-up ventures, form a major investment in research at Edinburgh BioQuarter, which is in the city’s Little France area and encompasses the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh’s Queen’s Medical Research Institute and Chancellor’s Building.

Professor Charles ffrench-Constant, Director of the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the SCRM and Chair of Chair of Medical Neurology at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Recent research into stem cells has heralded the beginning of a revolution in modern medicine. The Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine’s great strength lies in bringing world-class clinicians and scientists to work together, encouraging the translation of laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients. The research will help in finding treatments for devastating conditions, for which there are currently no cures.”