A US life sciences multinational has announced a £3.8m investment at its West Lothian site, which will lead to the creation of 156 skilled jobs over the next three years.
Scotland’s world-class reputation in clinical research is to be further enhanced by the development of a global “centre of excellence” at Q2 Solutions’ Livingston campus, supported a Scottish Enterprise grant.
The firm will establish a centre of excellence in ‘flow cytometry and genomics testing and analysis’, enabling it to offer an increased range of services to clients including leading pharmaceutical companies.
The major research and development project will help anchor Q2 Solutions’ operations in Scotland and sits alongside an ongoing £17m infrastructure expansion project at the campus, where the company already employs more than 950 people.
This follows the recent news that Scotland was the most popular UK location outside London for inward investment in 2020, for the sixth successive year.
Economy secretary Kate Forbes said: “This is excellent news for a business which has received Scottish Government support. Q2 Solutions already has a significant presence in Livingston and this important project will create more high quality jobs and further underlines Scotland’s position as a global player in precision medicine.
“The Scottish Government has worked closely with the company and continues to support the sector following our significant investment in major clinical and research assets such as the Precision Medicines Scotland Innovation Centre.
“Inward investment has a huge role to play in Scotland’s economic transformation. Our skilled workforce, research facilities and supportive investment culture are highly attractive to foreign companies. The Scottish Government is building on that success with an inward investment strategy which focuses on sectors that can deliver high-quality jobs and future growth, including health innovation.”
Elaine Lowey, Q2 Solutions’ general manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “I am delighted to lead such a momentous undertaking.
“Expanding our European operations in key technical areas supporting the development of new precision medications adds significant value to our global pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients. We are delighted to be working with Scottish Enterprise in this venture and look forward to the job creation this will bring in our new state-of-the-art facility.”
Scottish Enterprise director of global investment Mark Hallan said: “The company’s proposals for Scotland are incredibly exciting and exactly the type of project Scottish Enterprise aims to support as we look towards economic recovery.
“Scotland has one of the largest life sciences clusters in Europe, with a number of global companies already benefiting from the quality of our workforce. Q2 Solutions’ decision to locate this global centre of excellence at its Livingston site will only bolster our international reputation in this sector. Scottish Enterprise is delighted to have secured this opportunity for Scotland.”
Q2 Solutions was formed in 2015 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of human data sciences company IQVIA, which employs a further 250 people at Livingston. It is the largest life science employer in Scotland, having grown its workforce by 28 per cent in the last three years, and processes nearly 5m biological samples from clinical trials across the world each year.
According to the EY Scotland’s Attractiveness Survey 2021, inward investment projects into Scotland rose 6% last year compared with 2019. The number of projects across the UK as whole fell 12%.
Shaping Scotland’s Economy: Scotland’s Inward Investment Plan is available online.