Investment in new Scottish R&D projects falls to £74m

One of the largest grants was awarded to medical imaging firm TMVS

Investment in new research and development projects in Scotland fell slightly to £74m last year, Scottish Enterprise has revealed.

The business organisation invested £20m in separate projects in 2010-11, leading firms to invest a further £54m.

The total was £8m down on the previous year, although the number of grant awards reached a record 179.

Scottish Enterprise said the number of awards had risen as a result of an increase in demand from small firms.

One of the largest grants awarded in the past year went to Toshiba Medical Visualisation Systems (TMVS), which is based in Edinburgh.

It received £3m towards the development of new medical imaging technology, designed to make it easier for clinicians to diagnose and plan treatment for patients in fields such as heart disease and cancer.

Other firms to benefit from Scottish Enterprise innovation grants included Edinburgh-based Gigle - creators of cutting-edge chip technology for multi-media home networking - and Dundee-based Dynamo Games, a games developer working in the social, smartphone and tablet gaming sectors.

Antoxis from Aberdeen, which develops drug compounds to combat conditions such as Alzheimer's and diabetes, also secured grant money.

Companies operating in the energy sector secured the most grants, with 49 projects receiving £8.6m of Scottish Enterprise investment, helping the firms leverage a further £28.5m.

Almost 60% of the projects supported over the past year were with companies operating in Scotland's central belt.

However, the number of projects in Aberdeen doubled in 2010-11, compared to the previous year, to reach 31.

The figures were announced at the Scottish Technology Showcase 2011 at the SECC in Glasgow.

Speaking at the event, Paul Lewis, of Scottish Enterprise, said the results were "very encouraging".

He commented: "Over the past 12 months, we've supported more projects through our R&D funds and leveraged significant investment from the private sector.

"This is helping companies to sharpen their competitive edge and encouraging them to exploit new technology to improve their business."

Mr Lewis added: "If we are to accelerate Scotland's economy and boost long-term growth and employment, we need to help more Scottish companies adopt this innovative mindset and our R&D funds are one of the ways we're doing that."

Up to 1,500 local and international businesses are attending the Scottish Technology Showcase, Scotland's largest cross-sector technology event.

The event aims to help business leaders network with key technology experts and identify potential for improving productivity and competitiveness through the use of new technology.