Two funds are due to award various firms in the UK life sciences industry a total of £29m, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) reports.

This is in addition to a £10m project announced by Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday.

Fourteen UK universities and 18 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will benefit from a total of £10m from the government’s Biomedical Catalyst fund, which will be used to explore the market potential of early-stage ideas.

A consortium of 10 public and charity research funders in co-operation with the Medical Research Council are to invest £19m to establish four e-health centres in London, Manchester, Dundee and Swansea.

This follows the announcement from the PM that Olympic drug testing laboratories located in Harlow will be given a £10m conversion into a research centre after the Games are complete.

The first two announcements are being made as part of Life Sciences Day, one of 18 global business summits being held by UK Trade & Investment to coincide with the Olympic and Paralympic Games.