PHARMACEUTICALS firm RedX plans to bring 250 jobs to Liverpool by creating a £39m “centre of excellence” to develop cancer treatments.

The company – which won the Knowledge Business of the Year title at last night’s Daily Post Regional Business Awards – will reveal today that it is bidding for government funding to set up the centre to develop drugs to fight different cancers.

If it wins that £5.9m from the European Growth Fund, it will unlock some £33m of private investment.

Work on the centre could start next year and it could employ up to 250 people in five years' time.

The project will start in Liverpool Science Park but would move to the proposed BioCampus set to be built at the new Royal Liverpool Hospital.

RedX was created to develop new drugs based on existing compounds – meaning it can get them to market quickly without the lengthy testing programme involved in developing entirely new drugs. It was launched last year with backing from investors including private equity veteran Jon Moulton.