He is also happy to announce a further £5.2 million worth of funding fromRGF Round 5 to support two further projects by Redx Pharma and Absynth Biologics, also at Alderley Park.
The three companies bring 252 new jobs to Cheshire, providing a real boost to the area.
Molplex – an innovative biotech company – will create 127 jobs after receiving £1.2 million as part of their £4.7 million project to expand their production of its ground-breaking Optiplex system – an Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Laboratory System- to discover and develop new drugs for cancer, resistant bacteria and personalised medicine.
Redx Pharma – which is a drug discovery company – will create 107 new jobs after receiving £4.2 million as part of their £25.7 million project to develop new drugs for metabolic diseases.
Absynth Biologics – which is a vaccines and antibodies life sciences company – will create 18 jobs and safeguard three after receiving £1 million as part of their £3.1 million R&D project to develop new vaccines for global infectious diseases.
The minister today toured Molplex to see how the cash from the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) is helping to boost jobs and growth across the region by starting full production of its ground breaking work.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, said:
“The government’s Regional Growth Fund is helping create thousands of quality jobs, stimulate private sector investment and rebalance the economy.”
“I am thrilled to see that the people of Cheshire are to benefit. Companies like Molplex, Redx Pharma and Absynth and the people that work there are helping us to build a stronger economy and a fairer society for this generation and the next.”
Through the RGF, companies commit to creating jobs and investing in their regional economy in return for government funding.
So far £460 million of RGF money has been invested in businesses across the north-west, helping to create 98,000 new jobs as companies have committed to investing an additional £2.5 billion.
Across the country the RGF has funded private sector projects which will create 573,000 jobs, attracting £16 billion of investment from business and industry.
The latest round of bids – Round 6 – guarantees at least a further £200m of funding nationwide that will create thousands of jobs and further fuel our recovery. This round has seen 174 bids across the country totalling over £800 million – with 40 bids totalling £149 million in the north-west.
Ministers are visiting companies around the country today following a meeting of the Local Growth Committee in Stockport chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
