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05.03.2008 - Current BioData chooses Wales for expansion project after global search 

Current BioData – an entrepreneurial young company that provides highly sophisticated scientific information services to the global pharmaceutical industry - has chosen to expand its operations in Wales.

The company is to set up a new centre for its scientific editors in Swansea, creating 45 high value jobs for graduate and post-doctoral biochemists and biologists in the area; recruitment is already underway.

The Welsh Assembly Government has supported the investment with regional selective assistance. Current BioData had looked at a number of locations, including Singapore, for its expansion project but the Assembly Government’s international arm, International Business Wales, played a key role in encouraging the company to expand in Wales.

Ieuan Wyn Jones, Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport, welcomed Current BioData’s decision to invest in Wales and join the country’s rapidly expanding biosciences sector, which employs more than 15,000 people and has an annual turnover of £1.3billion.

He met the company’s Chief Executive, Ian Tarr – who is originally from Ammanford – during his recent visit to New York. Mr Tarr was promoting his company’s services in the United States, which is their largest market.

The Minister said the founders of Current BioData had an exceptional track record in the science, technical and medical information sector.

“They have earned a global reputation for innovation and developing small start up companies into major global enterprises and it is a tribute to the excellence of the bioscience sector in Wales that the company has chosen to expand here.

“The decision was taken after an extensive worldwide search to find a suitable location and will, I am sure, help raise the profile of Wales as the location of choice. Current BioData is an innovative and exceptional knowledge based company and their investment in Wales is excellent news.”

Current BioData will be based at the Institute of Life Science at Swansea University, where scientists will work on its flagship product, the Targeted Proteins Database (TPdb), which is used by pharmaceutical companies in their search for effective new medicines against life threatening diseases.

The database provides the most up-to-date information on how disturbances in the human body’s network of proteins can lead to diseases such as cancer. Researchers in pharmaceutical companies therefore tap into this database to help them develop better and safer medicines to combat these diseases.

Current BioData employs young scientists to build this database, supported by a global network of leading experts in protein research, including several Nobel Laureates.

Its scientists collect and evaluate the growing mass of scientific information on proteins and how they work in the body, turning it all into a daily updated database service that pharmaceutical companies access over the internet in return for a subscription fee.

Ian Tarr, thanking the Minister for the support and assistance of the Welsh Assembly Government, stated “The recent investment made in biosciences in Wales, the proactive support of the Welsh Assembly Government, quality of life for staff and several other factors ensured Wales became our preferred choice.

“It is very pleasing to see the progress which has been made in Wales, enabling us to invest there with confidence and to offer opportunities for graduates to develop their careers back home”.

Current BioData builds on the success that Ian Tarr and his business partner, Vitek Tracz, had with their previous company, Current Drugs Ltd. They developed Current Drugs from a small start up into an internationally recognised business that was eventually acquired in a multi-million dollar deal by the Thomson Corporation in 2002.  They hope to emulate this success with Current BioData and their investment in Wales is a critical part of their business plan for the company.

For more information contact:
Shan Ekin-Wood
Press Office
Welsh Assembly Government
Tel 02920 898636/07767 486935

Notes to Editors:

  • Press contact for Current BioData : Alison Tipping Tel +44 (0) 1273 227429
  • Ian Tarr is a fluent Welsh speaker and has family living in Ammanford.
  • The Science Technical and Medical (STM) information sector in which Current BioData operates is valued globally at over $20bn.
  • Current BioData is a privately owned, UK-based company, developed as a joint venture with Swiss company Geneva Bioinformatics SA, whose founders are recognised internationally as leading researchers in the field of protein information.  Current BioData has offices in London, Geneva, Edinburgh and the USA and now plans to focus its expansion at the new facility in Swansea.
  • Prior to joining Current BioData, Ian Tarr was Executive Vice President of Thomson Scientific, part of the international Thomson Corporation, one of the world’s leading information solutions companies, where he was responsible for their full range of products and services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and chemical industries.
  • Before that, as Managing Director of Current Drugs, he was responsible for developing the leading information service on investigational drugs, “IDdb” which is today used daily by several thousands of scientists and business leaders in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and related companies worldwide.