A new BioScience and Technology Institute, which could create up to 300 jobs, is to be developed on the outskirts of Belfast in a government-supported investment initiative.
The Institute, which is believed to have attracted up to £15 million sterling (€24.3 million) of financial support and investment, will create a new world-class facility in Northern Ireland to promote research and innovation in the biotech, life and health technologies sector.
It will be located in a new 65,000 sq foot development in Harbour Gate, east Belfast, and could create up to 300 jobs once it is operating at maximum capacity.
The founding members of the Institute include one of the world's leading cancer experts, Prof Patrick Johnston, who is professor of Oncology at Queen's University and Belfast City Hospital, and Prof Roy Spence, honorary lecturer at Queens and a consultant surgeon at Belfast City.
Mr Barry Gibson, the chief executive of the Institute, believes it will be the first centre of its type on the island of Ireland.
"It represents a significant opportunity for young - as well as established - enterprises aiming to benefit from the rapid growth of the world's bioscience industries," Mr Gibson said.
The promoters of the Institute had previously mooted a Bioscience Institute at Belfast City Hospital; this is now likely to become Phase Two of the current project.
The new Institute will initially provide facilities for biotech companies and related software and electronic businesses.
