On October 17, 2016, the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) announced over £3 million in investments over six synthetic biology projects.  IBioIC was founded by Ingenza Ltd, GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK), and INEOS to connect academic expertise in synthetic biology with industrial capabilities from businesses in the area.  IBioIC focuses on biotechnology in health, industrial, agriculture, and marine areas.  Recipients of the £3 million in funding are:

• “Synpromics with University of Edinburgh to enable better gene therapy;
• Lucite International with University of St Andrews to increase the sustainability of acrylic glass;
• Unilever with University of Edinburgh to create “greener” skin cleansers;
• Ingenza Ltd with University of Glasgow to develop advanced metrology (measurements) for biotechnology;
• Twist Bioscience with University of Edinburgh to develop tools to engineer yeast strains for fuels and pharmaceuticals; and
• Nissan Chemicals with University of Glasgow for new tools for bio-production of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, cosmetics.