This is a new UK government initiative funded by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Regional Development Agency, One NorthEast. From its outset the Institute will undertake industry-facing research and development in collaboration with the UK biotech and pharmaceutical industry.

Bii's initial activities are very much focused on data integration from disparate proteomics technologies and increasingly systems biology. The Institute will build upon expertise located at the Universities of Durham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside.