The two-story Genome Centre will house separate JIC and Syngenta research laboratories on the ground floor and the Norwich Bio-Incubator on the top floor. The unveiling was conducted jointly by Frank Oldfield, Chairman of the John Innes Foundation Trustees, and Dr. David Evans, Head of Research and Technology at Syngenta.

"The new Genome Centre includes a number of exciting innovations for JIC science in the 21st century," said Professor Chris Lamb, Director of the JIC. "The building and the science it will facilitate are key to our vision for the future of the JIC, the Norwich Research Park and Norwich, shared by the several partners who have funded this world class facility."

The Genome Centre has been jointly funded by Syngenta, the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the John Innes Foundation.

The facilities will service the needs of researchers working in the area of plant and microbial genomics across the Norwich Research Park (NRP) and around the UK, by providing state of the art laboratories.

The building will also house Syngenta's Wheat Improvement Centre, with up to forty scientists from Syngenta working on the development of new technologies to provide novel cereal varieties of value to growers, food producers and consumers around the world via its leading cereal business, represented by New Farms Crops in the UK.

Dr. David Evans, Head of Research and Technology at Syngenta, said, "This is an excellent example of a partnership between independent, publicly-funded science and a commercial organization. The JIC and the Sainsbury Laboratory (SL) are Europe's premier research centers in plant science and Syngenta believes that the sharing of expertise in crop genetics and genomic science through collaborations such as this will benefit the UK/European science base as well as Syngenta, JIC and the SL."

"The JIC and SL are committed to ensuring that their fundamental scientific discoveries are developed and exploited for the public good," said Professor Chris Lamb. "However, neither organization has a remit to make new products from their scientific discoveries.

"Collaborations with companies such as Syngenta is one way to ensure science is converted into products that benefit end users. Another route is to establish 'spin out' companies, which take scientific discoveries and convert them into useful and useable products. The Norwich Bio-Incubator provides us with the facilities to pursue this route as well."

EEDA has invested £1.24 million in the Norwich Bio-Incubator, which will provide specialist laboratories, technical and business advice for start-up businesses that are converting research concepts into viable new business opportunities. The Bio-Incubator will consist of 11 research laboratories with adjacent offices and specialist equipment and support services.

Neville Reyner, deputy chair of EEDA, said, "The expertise in plant, food and environmental sciences at the Norwich Research Park is known worldwide and unmatched in the UK. NRP science has enormous potential to improve food production, the environment and the quality of our lives. Through the support that is provided for this specialist incubator facility, we hope that the academic and research expertise can be turned into successful businesses and expansion of this important cluster. These in turn will generate a wide range of associated and new employment that will benefit the whole region."

"The funding support from EEDA has been the key to making this exciting project happen and will ensure the launch of small biotech companies that will put scientific discoveries to good use," said Don O'Nions, Head of Administration at JIC.

The John Innes Centre is an independent research center for plant and microbial sciences. The JIC is grant-aided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. The JIC has over 850 staff and students.

JIC carries out high quality fundamental, strategic and applied research to understand how plants and microbes work at the molecular, cellular and genetic levels. The JIC also trains scientists and students, collaborates with many other research laboratories and communicates its science to end users and the general public.

The Sainsbury Laboratory has a worldwide reputation for research on molecular plant pathology. The major aim of the Laboratory is to pursue the fundamental processes involved in the interactions of plants and their pathogens. Funding for the Laboratory is primarily through grants from a charitable foundation.

In addition, grants are obtained from research councils, the European Union and other organizations. The laboratory is located at the John Innes Centre.

Syngenta is a world leading agribusiness. The company ranks first in crop protection and third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Pro forma sales in 2000 were approximately US $6.9 billion. Syngenta employs more than 20,000 people in over 50 countries.

The company is committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative Research and Technology. Formed in November 2000 by the merger of Novartis Agribusiness and Zeneca Agrochemicals, Syngenta is listed on the Swiss stock exchange and in London, New York and Stockholm.

Syngenta has over 4,000 employees based in the UK, working at fifteen separate locations. Among the business areas represented in the UK are research and technology, global supply chain, crop protection, seeds and Bioline (formerly BCM). The European headquarters of Syngenta's crop protection business is in Surrey.

Syngenta has a strong presence in the global cereals business and, in the UK, its subsidiary New Farm Crops is a leading player in the breeding and commercialization of new cereal varieties. It also has cereal breeding operations in France through its shareholding in CC Benoist, in Germany, and in the US through Syngenta's seed business under the NK® brand and the AgriPro Wheat collaborative venture with Advanta.

EEDA is the driving force behind economic regeneration in the East of England: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. EEDA has an ambitious target to make the East of England one of the top 20 European regions by 2010 -- the region is currently third out of the 11 UK regions in terms of economic performance, but only 34th out of 77 European regions.

By working with partners across the region, EEDA aims to bring more successful businesses, better jobs and a higher quality of life to those who live and work in the East of England. Its administrative headquarters are at Histon, near Cambridge, with offices at Bury St. Edmunds, Norwich and Harlow. EEDA's regional economic advisors are based across the East of England.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council is a non-departmental public body, established by Royal Charter to promote research and training in the non-medical life sciences so as to contribute to the economic competitiveness of the UK and the quality of life. It is principally funded through the Science Budget by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology.

The Norwich Bio-Incubator is being managed for the John Innes Centre by Plant Biosciences Ltd, a for-profit technology transfer and intellectual property management company specializing in plant and microbial science. It is the intellectual property management company of the John Innes Centre and the Sainsbury Laboratory.

17-Jul-2001