Life Sciences
Join our mission to meet the healthcare challenges of today and tomorrow.
The life sciences sector is a fast-expanding, highly productive part of the UK economy, key to creating high-skilled jobs across the UK, meeting government R&D targets, cementing the UK’s role as a science superpower and ensuring the NHS is the country’s most powerful driver of innovation.
Our long-term UK Government Life Sciences Vision reflects the unique diversity of the UK’s offer. That offer is the result of a deep heritage in life sciences and our nationwide centres of excellence – plus an ecosystem of entrepreneurs, small and large companies and a world class academic base. This provides broad expertise across all the key subsectors, including MedTech, pharmaceuticals, genomics, diagnostics and digital.
Our Vision
A mission for growth
In 2023 we announced over £1 billion of funding to support a thriving life sciences sector.
In 2021, the UK government published its 10-year strategy for the sector – the Life Sciences Vision. It sets out what the government, the NHS, regulators, companies, medical research charities, academia and philanthropy must do to create an environment in which industry can grow and succeed in the UK – and patients and the NHS can receive a real benefit.
In 2023 we announced over £1 billion of funding to support a thriving life sciences sector, building on a decade of sustained investment into this key growth sector.
In 2020, the UK government’s budget for health R&D was £3.2 billion, (0.15% as a percentage of GDP). This ranked the UK highest out of European comparators for government spending on health research (£3.2bn), and 2nd compared to global comparator countries (only behind the USA). [1] And the government has committed to invest £20 billion in R&D in 2024 to 2025. [2] The Life Sciences Healthcare Missions, which form part of the Life Sciences Vision, are backed with over £200m of government funding.
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-science-and-technology-framework/the-uk-science-and-technology-framework
Innovation and R&D
A global hotspot
The UK was ranked 4th globally in the 2023 WIPO Global Innovation Index.
UK scientists continue to be at the forefront of science and discovery, responsible for discovering around 25 per cent of the world’s top 100 prescription medicines and leading the way in COVID-19 vaccines[1].
The UK was ranked 4th globally in the 2023 WIPO Global Innovation Index[2]. And we’re known for producing impactful research in Europe – the UK accounted for nearly 12% of the global medical life science academic citations in 2022, ranking 3rd amongst comparator countries (behind the USA and China)[3].
UK researchers and institutions have won over 80 Nobel Prizes for science and pioneered major scientific breakthroughs[4]. These have included the discovery of penicillin and the structure of DNA, advances in neuroscience and medical imaging, developments in stem cells and IVF, and applying artificial intelligence and data science to biological problems. This unparalleled science base is supported by partnership with government, industry and third sector[5].
Companies investing in the UK benefit from access to world-class universities and life sciences infrastructure including lab space, science parks and manufacturing facilities, as well as incubators and accelerators in which to start up and scale up. A national health research network supports streamlined trials operations, and innovation support is available from the regulator, health technology assessment bodies, and the NHS.
[2] https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/
[3] Life Sciences Competitiveness Indicators annual OLS publication 2023
[4] DIT analysis of attribution of Nobel Prizes
[5] https://www.great.gov.uk/international/content/investment/sectors/healthcare-and-life-sciences/
Investment
Focussed on funding
UKRI has a combined budget of more than £7bn across seven research councils to invest in research and businesses.[2]
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a public body which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities and the government to create the best environment for research and innovation to flourish.
Transforming life sciences and bio-manufacturing will continue to be a focus for UKRI. This will be achieved through its funding councils[1], such as the Medical Research Council (MRC), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Innovate UK.
The UKRI budget for 2024/25 is £8.9bn for investments across research councils and strategic programmes.[2]
[2] https://www.ukri.org/publications/ukri-budget-allocation-explainers/
Investment
A magnet for venture capital
The UK raised £4.5bn in public and private financing in 2021 – that’s 60% more than in 2020. And UK companies secured half of all European biotech venture capital.
Our Life Sciences companies raised over £10.5bn of venture capital investment from 2020-2022, more than Canada, Germany and France combined[1]. In 2023, the UK accounted for 41% of the total biotech venture capital investment across Europe[2].
[2] https://biotechfinance.org/
Investment
Growing opportunities
The UK’s pharmaceutical manufacturing industry contributed £15.7 billion in GVA to the economy in 2022.
The UK life sciences sector employed nearly 119,000 people in 2021/22 at manufacturing sites. This figure has been increasing in recent years, with employment now 8% higher in 2021/22 compared to 2018/19[1].
Moderna announced plans to build a £1bn state-of-the-art research and manufacturing centre in the UK in 2022, construction of which began last year, with the facility expecting to become operational in 2025.
Analysis from the Science Industry Partnership (SIP) suggests that the sector could generate 133,000 jobs between 2018 and 2030 through growth and replacement[2]. And following COVID-19 this estimate is considered to be conservative, with the actual figure much higher[3].
The UK has invested in range of initiatives to develop talent onshore through domestic skills and training policies and programmes as well as access and create an attractive offer to overseas talent.
This includes government funded initiatives such as the Medicines manufacturing Skills Centre of Excellence, Advanced Therapies Apprenticeship Community[4], Advanced Therapies Skills Training Network[5] and RNA Academy[6].
The UK also offers digital skill training available at all levels[7] – from schools and apprenticeships to academic degrees[8], degree apprenticeships and postgraduate programmes[9].
Global Talent Network (GTN)[10] and the Global Entrepreneur programme (GEP)[11] are both working to support talent to locate to the UK.
[2] https://www.scienceindustrypartnership.com/news/news/life-sciences-skills-strategy-shows-demand-for-133-000-jobs-across-the-sector-by-2030/
[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/55-million-centre-of-excellence-to-keep-uk-medicines-manufacturers-at-the-front-of-the-global-race-for-skills
[4] https://advancedtherapiesapprenticeships.co.uk/about/
[5] https://www.atskillstrainingnetwork.org.uk/
[6] https://www.rna-training.co.uk/rna-academy
[7] https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/find-a-course/the-skills-toolkit
[8] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/23-million-to-boost-skills-and-diversity-in-ai-jobs
[9] https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/skills-and-employment/postgraduate-conversion-courses-in-data-science-and-artificial-intelligence/
[10] https://www.great.gov.uk/campaign-site/global-talent-network/
[11] https://www.great.gov.uk/campaign-site/gep/
