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The South East has a Gross Value Added (GVA) of £158 billion (approx $290 billion / €230 billion). This is similar to that of Norway and Austria. |
With a population of eight million and a workforce of 4.2 million, the South East is the largest region in the UK. |
Approximately 287,200 VAT registered enterprises are present in the South East, more than any other UK region. |
The South East is the largest exporter in the UK, with £29 billion (approx $52 billion / €41 billion) of goods moved in 2004. |
The labour force is highly educated with 90% of the working age population holding an academic qualification and over one third of the workforce holding a degree. |
Workers with good language skills are readily available in the region due to the truly international workforce of 585,000 people who were born outside of the UK. |
Around nine working days a year are lost per employee due to sickness, the lowest amount for a UK region. |
The region is home to 24 universities and higher education institutes, where nearly 200,000 study. This includes the University of Oxford, one of the most prestigious universities in the world. |
South East universities work very closely with business, with over 2800 research conracts won annually, higher than any other UK region. |
The region's 24 universities and higher education institutes supply over 73,000 graduates per annum. |
£4.66 billion (approx $3.06 billion / €2.43 billion) is spent on R&D annually, nearly one quarter of UK expenditure. |
South East organisations undertaking R&D employ 45,800 people, which is almost 25% of the UK R&D workforce. |
The South East has the highest number of patents granted in the UK. The statistics show that 820 patents, over 20% of the UK total were granted to firms based in the South East in 2004-5. |
There are 6,540 foreign-owned companies in the South East. |
With three international airports, 11 sea ports, 108 motorway junctions, 77 train stations and access to the Channel Tunnel, the South East has one of the most extensive transport infrastructures in Europe. |
Heathrow, the world's busiest international passenger airport, is home to over 90 airlines serving approximately 186 destinations. It handles over 67 million passengers and 1.3 million tonnes of freight each year. |
It takes 35 minutes to travel through the Channel Tunnel between the UK and mainland Europe. Most major towns in the South East are connected by rail to central London with a journey time of under an hour. |
Almost one third of the land in the South East (637,000 hectares) is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), more than any other UK region. |
In 2004-5, the South East had the second lowest crime rate in England with 8,983 reported crimes per 100,000 people. |
94% of the South East population is in good or fairly good health, which is higher than any other UK region. |
Eurostar has set a record for the quickest train journey between Paris and London of just 2 hours, 3 minutes and 39 seconds, meaning a typical journey will take just over 2 hours when the line opens in November 2007. |
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| Oxagen enters key drug development phase |
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11 December 2009
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A biotechnology firm based at an Oxfordshire business park has entered into a key phase of its development of an oral treatment for asthma.
Abingdon-headquartered Oxagen announced that recruitment for a placebo-controlled clinical trial of its CRTH2 antagonist has been completed - with the study now expected to end in the second quarter of next year.
The trial's purpose is to establish the magnitude of improvement in lung function and asthma symptoms of patients consuming one oral dose of the therapy daily.
Funded using multi-million pound financing obtained from Novartis Venture Funds last month, the test will include 440 asthmatic patients and was initiated in May this year.
Mark Payton, Chief Executive of Oxagen, emphasised the importance of this therapy to the company's portfolio of novel small molecule drugs.
He said: "This represents an exciting time for Oxagen and a key phase in the clinical development of this compound following our recent successful proof-of-concept studies in both asthma and allergic rhinitis."
This study follows a number of phase programmes implemented by the company in which more than 600 individuals have been exposed to the drug and responded well to its effects.
Mr Payton added that Oxagen's market position will be strengthened in the future thanks to the development of the therapy.
"We believe oral CRTH2 antagonists offer a valuable contribution to respiratory medicine and this study maintains Oxagen's position as one of the leading players in this field," he said.
Oxagen is based south of Oxford in Milton Park, which provides commercial property space and industrial lets to international and domestic corporations.
One of Europe's largest multi-use business parks, the facility hosts more than 6,500 people in 3,400,000 sq ft of office space.
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