Edinburgh business park shows Covid-19 is not all bad news for the economy

Businesses in the Capital’s Technopole business park have continued with business as usual throughout the pandemic.

Edinburgh Technopole in Easter Bush, near Penicuik.

Businesses at the forefront of medical research and pharmaceutical engineering are a sign the Edinburgh economy is still strong and have helped battle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Companies based at the Technopole science park at Easter Bush have been working throughout the pandemic and many believe that their success shows that there is life in the Capital economy despite the inevitable damage caused by the coronavirus crisis.

Science park manager Judith Sanderson said the park was “proud” to have stayed open throughout the pandemic, helping its clients to meet the demands of a pandemic-hit world.

Many tenants are companies within the pharmaceutical supply chain with some working on cancer drugs, others doing Covid-19 tests and some helping with the process of creating vaccines.

Ms Sanderson said: “We are quite proud of the fact that we have kept the science park fully operational throughout.

"For us, it is crystals, cancer, and Covid, and they have been working flat out and it is really down to us at the park to make sure that the buildings are compliant and all the processes are in place.”

The park was forced to install hand sanitiser, one way systems, distance markers and temperature checks in order to keep much-needed labs open, and has continued to see interest for its office space and expansion of tenants already there.

Ms Sanderson added: “We thought we would be quiet but the number of enquiries from life science companies has increased and we have also noticed that one or two of our companies are expressing their interest in expanding.

"It shows that there are lots of sectors of the economy that are going to continue to expand or as their sectors were continuing as intended with the investment there and the customers are there."

Alastair Hay, account manager at Almac who are based in the park and have helped produce products which have been used in the search for a Covid-19 vaccine said business has stayed steady and if anything has improved during the pandemic.

He said: “There has been a lot of interest in vaccine products in particular. What we do is small scale lab research and manufacturing and produce materials that get used in pharmaceutical research.

"What is quite interesting is that a lot of the language that we used to only hear at work is being used by the public now.

"It has not created a boom but there financial interest in doing different types of work that wasn't being done before.”

Mark Benger of Cambrex, another pharmaceutical company in the park, said the park's facilities had allowed them to continue working while others were forced to be at home and stay afloat.

Most of his company’s work is done in labs to help develop cancer drugs, meaning the need for PPE, social distancing and continued work

He said: “Being able to keep our workforce working at the same time others were furloughed was good because we couldn’t afford to have than many people working from home.

"But generally speaking we have come out of this with a workforce that has had to stick together through this and everyone to a man has done what they need to do.”

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