Edinburgh Innovations (EI), the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service, has announced a new interim CEO in Dr Andrea Taylor in light of Dr George Baxter’s upcoming departure.

Currently serving as director of strategic partnerships, Taylor will take the helm of Edinburgh Innovations at the end of March.

In her partnerships role, Taylor led the university into high-profile collaborations such as NEURii, which aims to explore the use of data and digital solutions to complement treatment options for dementia patients, and beLAB1407, which looks to advance drug discovery opportunities.

Speaking on the appointment, Taylor said: “I am delighted to take on the opportunity of interim CEO of Edinburgh Innovations. We have a fantastic team at EI that has already supported the university to achieve record levels of innovation and commercialisation under the leadership of George Baxter.

“Innovation and entrepreneurship have never been a more integrated part of the university, and the opportunities for multi-stakeholder engagement and partnership are greater than ever. Along with the support of the whole leadership team, I will be looking ahead to capitalise on significant opportunities across the innovation landscape.”

Dr Baxter, who’s served as EI’s CEO since 2016, will take on a new role as chief innovation and economic development officer at the University of California, Davis.

During his tenure at EI, Baxter has helped the university grow its industrial and translational research income from £10m to almost £92m.

Last year, 123 companies were launched, and £107m was invested into the university’s portfolio through its in-house venture investment team, Old College Capital.

Baxter himself added: “I am extremely proud of how EI has grown and of the fantastic work the team does every day to enable innovation and impact at the university, which contributes to us meeting global challenges in the most pressing areas of climate, future health and data and AI for good.

“As Andrea said, it’s fantastic to see the role of innovation and entrepreneurship continuing to grow and embed at the university, and I very much look forward to seeing the impacts that will be achieved over the years to come.”

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The last time DIGIT reported on Edinburgh Innovations-related news was just last week, when it was announced that biotech spinout Wobble Genomics had secured £8.5 million in funding to commercialise its RNA sequencing technology.

Wobble Genomics was spunout in 2021 with the support of Edinburgh Innovations.