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First Minister Alex Salmond has given a boost to Scottish entrepreneurs and small businesses with the announcement of £4.7m of new support.

On a visit to human tissue specialist Biopta?s Glasgow base, the First Minister announced European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) allocations for new projects that will support enterprise growth through offering advice and assistance to new and small businesses.??

First Minister Alex Salmond said: ?It is important that our small businesses have access to support and advice, particularly in this challenging economic climate, so that they can realise their potential, seize opportunities, expand, invest and contribute to Scotland?s sustainable economic growth.??

?This announcement of more than £4.7m European funding will deliver quality support and advice services for business growth, which will benefit around 500 companies and potentially create 580 jobs. The three funded projects will focus on encouraging and developing ambitious entrepreneurs and businesses, and I am confident that they will help to support the creation of many more Scottish success stories, like Biopta, which benefited from an ERDF-funded initiative.?

The growth of Biopta has been aided by previous investments from the ERDF supported Scottish Enterprise Scottish co-investment fund and  matched investment from Braveheart Investment Group and TriCap. The company was spun out of Glasgow Caledonian University in 2002 and it now counts eight of the top 10 major pharmaceutical companies as its clients.??

Dr David Bunton, CEO of Biopta, said: ?Using human tissues to develop drugs intended for human use sounds obvious, but our approach is actually quite radical. The drug development process continues to be dominated by animal-based methods and our offering is seen as a major step forward in the creation of safe, effective medicines.??