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news.GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has welcomed the UK government’s proposals to establish a ‘Patent Box,’ which is designed to encourage investment in R&D and related manufacturing in the country by introducing a lower rate of corporation tax on profits generated from UK owned intellectual property.
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GSK said that successful implementation of the Patent Box will secure new investment in the manufacture of the company’s next generation high-technology respiratory inhalation device for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at Ware in Hertfordshire.
The company said that the proposal will ensure that the UK is the location for GSK’s next biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant. In 2011 the company will conduct a feasibility study on the location of this facility.
Current GSK manufacturing sites in Montrose in Scotland, and Ulverston and Barnard Castle in the North of England will be considered first.
The company is also building a significant biopharmaceutical business. Six biopharmaceuticals are now in late-stage development for treatment of diseases such as lupus and diabetes, and biopharms represent approximately 20% of GSK’s overall clinical pipeline.
The proposal will also secure further investment in continuous tablet manufacturing technology at Ware and a new topical (creams and ointments) manufacturing centre of excellence at Barnard Castle, County Durham, in support of GSK’s growing global dermatology franchise.
GSK is of the opinion that the Patent Box proposals will result in the launch of a new £50m UK Venture Capital Fund.
The fund will be focussed on investments in early stage healthcare companies and spin outs from academia in the UK which are pursuing innovative, breakthrough science.
The new fund will be a dedicated element of GSK’s existing corporate venture capital arm, SR One.
The proposals will also ead to the construction of a new facility at the University of Nottingham focussed on the development of ‘green chemistry’ technology.
The facility will both support academic teaching and encourage related IP research and development in the field of green chemistry.
The new investments will also lead to the creation of an estimated 1,000 new jobs in the UK over the lifetime of the projects. The investments will also benefit the wider construction industry and the more than 10,000 companies which supply GSK with services and facilities in the UK, the company said.
GSK CEO Andrew Witty said that when implemented, the Patent Box has the potential to transform the way in which the UK is viewed by companies such as GSK as a location for new investments in high added-value R&D and manufacturing.
"For GSK, the successful introduction of the Patent Box will enable us to increase investment in communities where we have existing facilities by scaling up current manufacturing and building a significant new plant. With a more IP-friendly environment, we also plan to launch a new UK venture capital fund and invest in new technologies such as green chemistry. In total, these new investments in the UK would be worth more than £500m," Witty said.