Tony Blair yesterday unveiled plans to boost the competitiveness of London and the South East of England as a global centre of excellence of medical research.

The initiative, mirroring similar efforts in Boston and Shanghai, will include the creation of special bursaries and fellowships to attract top scientists, as well as fresh investment in UK education.

The Government said that extra funding would also be made available for specialist infrastructure and research projects in the South East, including Oxford and Cambridge.

Advice will be offered to entrepreneurs, and “biomedical incubator parks” may be established to give business people access to subsidised laboratory and office space.

The plans also include better co-ordination between universities, the NHS, drug makers and medical device companies.

The Government said that it might follow the example of Boston, where start-up companies have been offered subsidised loans and fast-track construction permits for medical research facilities.

Mr Blair told an audience of minister, research scientists and corporate executives yesterday: “The development of science and technology is now central to our economic future. If we fail to make the most of what we have, then we will fall behind.”

Mr Blair said that the UK desperately needs to keep pace with emerging clusters of scientific excellence, many of which offer much lower costs.

Singapore, Dubai, Shanghai and New Delhi are all developing similar approaches, alongside traditional regions of medical research and entrepeneurship in California and Boston.

Mr Blair said: “China and India are already in some respects First World economies. They are investing heavily in their science and technology.”

Rick Trainor, the principal of King’s College London, welcomed the initiative, but said: “The balance between co-operation and competition is a delicate one. The challenge is to move the balance to be more collaborative.”

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