Welsh biotechnology entrepreneur to head Bio-Malta Foundation

Prof Sir Christopher Evans has been appointed chairman of the Bio-Malta foundation, which will prepare the blueprint and seek investment for the Life Sciences Park being built by Malta Enterprise in San Gwann.

Sir Christopher will also be appointed Malta's Special Envoy for Life Sciences.

He told the media this morning that the priority of the foundation is to set out the strategy and vision for this sector, and to create a $200m fund that will provide seed capital and share capital to encourage companies to set up and conduct their research in the new park.

This, he said, would in turn serve to attract bigger investment in the park.

Some contacts have started with investment managers. The foundation is also considering how it can help existing Maltese biomedical companies with a view for their expansion and transfer to the park.

Asked about how crucial it was for Malta to have legislation on IVF, embryo freezing and related issues, he said that whether or not there was a law did not have significant impact in the short term, but said this would be useful in the long term. He explained that when President Obama reversed restrictions by his predecessor on stem cell research, there had been an upsurge of investment in 'ethical science'.

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said the appointment of Sir Christopher brought with it a wealth of experience that would help realise the government's vision to attract businesses in the life sciences sector. Malta, he said, already had a thriving generic pharmaceutical sector with exports of €208 million per year but now was the time to move towards high-end research and development companies.

Sir Christopher is a Welsh biotechnology entrepreneur. He was the founder of Chiroscience (now merged with Celltech), Celsis, Enzymatix, and a number of other companies.

Sir Christopher runs Merlin Biosciences (founded 1996), which manages investments in the biotechnology industry. He has established 20 science companies during his career, and was twice elected "Cambridge Businessman of the Year".

Two years ago he was appointed by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to the UK Stem Cell Initiative.