10/2/2023 12:00:00 AM
Four years after launch, TusPark's investment in a flagship Bio-Innovation Centre at Cambridge Science Park is paying handsome dividends for the health of life science innovation around the world.
The gateway development is a lot more than bricks and mortar: It has become the pulse and heartbeat of an incubation model that works so well that TusPark plans to replicate it across Cambridge, the Golden Triangle and other major centres in the North of England and Scotland.
The Bio-Innovation Centre at the Science Park has been full for some time. Of equal significance is the fact that TusPark has a waiting list featuring early stage biotechs who believe they will thrive on the centre’s incubator & lab model and mature in terms of their capability as well as their financial security.
Wei Meng and Jerry Wu, who have helped build the concept into a winning formula, say the initial vision of TusPark in China to grow the model from Cambridge Science Park has exceeded all expectations.
They say that TusPark had been contemplating the project for some time before deciding to take the plunge and that the Science Park’s reputation as a catalyst for globally gamechanging science & technology made it the ideal venue.
TusPark has already established a similar venture in Newcastle –albeit on a smaller scale – but say that the fact Bidwells and Science Park owner Trinity have bought so enthusiastically into the TusPark vision makes the Cambridge venture extra special.
Wei Meng studied at the University of Cambridge and he and Jerry Wu are evangelists for the collaborative infrastructure of the city. There are broader benefits for Cambridge. Through TusPark’s innovative Bootcamp and accelerator initiatives an increasing number of Cambridge and UK fledglings are taking wing internationally. The bootcamp is a programme of training courses organised by TusStar to help UK technology and life sciences companies grow globally.
Jerry Wu says: “Through our wider engagement philosophy we have seen two-way success with global entrepreneurs and companies coming to Cambridge Science Park to experience the entrepreneurial environment here and local companies building bridges so they can thrive in the global market.”
Wei Meng adds: “Obviously our hopes of expanding the model across Cambridge and the UK depend on land availability but we have demonstrated that the model is successful, which repays our faith in going ahead with the Cambridge project.
“We endeavour to be hands-on in helping tenant companies access growth finance and tap into the cutting edge, entrepreneurial spirit that helps Cambridge thrive. Companies here and on the waiting list are extremely dynamic and open to help and ideas to pursue their dreams of worldwide success.”
TusPark UK reveals that it never had to close during the Covid19 lockdown which hit parts of the UK so hard. Jerry Wu says TusPark and the tenant companies took the opportunity to develop their strategies in readiness for the bounceback, so were well prepared to exploit opportunities when the clouds cleared away.
Wei Meng adds: “That is another example of how special Cambridge is. Our model was a very first for Cambridge Science Park and for us in the UK. We always felt that Cambridge was a unique environment and so it has proved.
“We admired the Science Park as the first and oldest such venture in Europe and everything Trinity envisaged has brought handsome returns. We looked at many models before going ahead with the Cambridge project and believe the one Trinity and TusPark have developed add so much value to the entrepreneurial ecosystem that Cambridge is renowned for.”
Original article published at: https://www.cambridgesciencepark.co.uk/winning-forumla-tuspark/