US life sciences firm to create 150 jobs in Livingston

A US clinical research firm is to develop a global centre of excellence at its base in West Lothian, creating more than 150 jobs over three years.

The move by Q2 Solutions, which already employs more than 950 people at its Livingston campus, is being backed by a £3.8m grant from Scottish Enterprise.

The centre of excellence will include genomics testing and analysis.

It will sit alongside an ongoing £17m infrastructure expansion project at the campus.

The company said the multi-million pound research and development project would enable it to offer an increased range of services to clients such as pharmaceutical companies.

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The announcement follows a survey released by accountancy firm EY, which showed a 6% increase last year in the number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Scotland.

Economy Secretary Kate Forbes said the move by Q2 further underlined Scotland's position as a global player in precision medicine.

She added: "Inward investment has a huge role to play in Scotland's economic transformation.

"Our skilled workforce, research facilities and supportive investment culture are highly attractive to foreign companies."

Q2 was formed in 2015 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of human data sciences company IQVIA, which employs a further 250 people at Livingston.

It is the largest life science employer in Scotland, having grown its workforce by 28% in the last three years.

Q2 processes nearly five million biological samples from clinical trials across the world each year.