Next-generation life changing technologies

The UK's life sciences sector is a global powerhouse, recognized for its world-class research, innovative companies, and a supportive ecosystem that fosters growth. Sector focus and growth will be driven by and delivered through the Life Sciences Sector Plan. UK government, in partnership with industry, has a clear vision to maintain and enhance the UK's position as a leading global hub for clinical research and medical innovation.

The UK life sciences industry is a significant contributor to the national economy, home to 6800 businesses employing over 304,200 people and generating £108.1 billion in turnover in 21/22. The sector is broadly divided into four main areas:

Biopharmaceutical Core: This is the largest sub-sector by turnover, accounting for 43% of the total. It includes major pharmaceutical companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) focused on drug discovery and development.
Medical Technology Core: This sector has the highest proportion of sites and employment, with 44% of all life sciences sites and 39% of employment. It includes the development of medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health tools.
Biopharmaceutical Service and Supply: This area supports the core biopharmaceutical sector and accounts for a significant portion of the total turnover, at 25%.
Medical Technology Service and Supply: This sector provides services and supplies to the medical technology core.

The sector is characterized by a large number of innovative SMEs, which are a major source of research and development (R&D) and often attract significant private investment. The UK is also home to two of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, GSK and AstraZeneca, demonstrating its capacity for large-scale operations.

The UK's life sciences strategy is built on a mission-led approach, focusing on key healthcare challenges and leveraging the country's strengths in data, genomics, and advanced manufacturing. The three core pillars are:

Enabling World-Class R&D: The UK is enabling a favorable environment for research, from early discovery to clinical trials. Key initiatives include streamlining clinical trial approvals and investing in large-scale data platforms, like the Health Data Service.
Creating a Robust Business Environment: The UK aims to be the best place to start, grow, scale, and invest in life sciences. The government is prioritising policy that allows your company to attract and retain talent, support for manufacturing, and access to capital.
Driving Health Innovation and NHS Reform: The UK's National Health Service (NHS) is a key driver of innovation. By fostering collaboration between industry and the NHS, new technologies and treatments can be developed and adopted more quickly for patient benefit.

The strategy also identifies several "great healthcare challenges" to focus R&D efforts, including cancer, dementia, mental health, obesity, ageing, respiratory disease, and vaccines. You can read more about this in the NHS 10 year plan: Fit for the future.

Focus themes and strategic pillars

Opportunities for international investors

The UK offers a highly attractive environment for international investment, ranking among the top globally for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in life sciences. The UK’s Life Sciences strategy offers several entry points for Swedish investors that the Department for Business and Trade can facilitate:

Strategic Partnerships: The UK actively seeks to form strategic partnerships with international companies. These collaborations can provide access to the UK's robust research base, skilled workforce, and the NHS for clinical trials and product adoption.

Specialized Facilities: The UK is home to world-leading research institutes, universities, and dedicated innovation centers that provide a fertile ground for R&D and collaboration, and excellent entry opportunity for international companies.

Access to Capital and Talent in conjunction with expansion: The UK has a deep and active venture capital market for life sciences. While funding can fluctuate, the UK remains the leading European market for biotech venture capital.

The UK government and various organizations provide significant funding to support the life sciences sector. Some of the funding opportunities available for Swedish companies are:

Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF): This fund provides capital grants for investments in the manufacture of human medicines and medical technology. It is a key mechanism for encouraging businesses to onshore or expand their manufacturing capabilities in the UK.
Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst: This program offers grant funding to UK-based SMEs to develop innovative health and care solutions. It is designed to de-risk innovative technologies and help businesses secure private investment.
International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF): While primarily aimed at UK researchers and innovators, this fund supports international collaborations on major themes and can provide a pathway for Swedish businesses to partner with UK counterparts on joint research projects.

Clusters

Business cases

Swedish roots an asset for healthtech company Doctrin

Doccla bringing remote patient monitoring to the UK

Meet the Swedish businesses that are making it in the healthtech and medtech sector.

Turnover of the UK medtech sector.

More than 4,000
businesses are active in the UK medtech sector.

The UK medtech sector
employs more than 130,000 people.

Regional strengths
The UK boasts local strengths and capabilities relating to the Medical and Health technologies industry.

Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has a long history in medtech innovation. Ulster University and Queens University Belfast have both developed world-class innovation. Northern Ireland’s economy is supported by Invest Northern Ireland, the region’s economic development agency, which invests over £100m into local companies annually.

Central to this ecosystem is the Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland (HIRANI), which is an alliance of universities, health organisations (NHS) and industry bodies. Some of Northern Ireland’s notable research centres include:

Northern Ireland Connected Health Innovation Centre (CHIC).
Nanotechnology and Integrated Bioengineering Centre (NIBEC).
Ulster University’s Cognitive Analytics Research Lab (CARL).

Northern Ireland has over 240 healthcare and life sciences companies in the region. The joined-up approach of the Northern Ireland ecosystem enables easy access to all stakeholders, resulting in a resilient and agile supply chain. Over 8,800 people are directly employed in Life and Health Sciences companies, contributing to over £1bn worth of exports annually from Northern Ireland. This pool of talent is here to stay, with over 4,500 students in L&HS related studies across Northern Ireland.

Scotland
With over 9,000 people employed in the sector, Scotland offers a diverse and supportive supplier community consisting of over 150 supply chain companies. With its variety of grants and financial incentives, Scotland has a rich life sciences ecosystem with plenty of opportunities for investors. Investors are given easy access to clinical skills expertise, disease networks, clinical trials and the innovation ecosystem across Scotland, including the NHS, Scotland’s single healthcare provider. Direct links to NHS Scotland and Chief Scientist Office are available at NHS Research Scotland.

Scotland has also a steady pipeline of students and graduates. 21,410 students graduated with degrees in biological sciences, subjects allied to medicine, and engineering and technology in 2018, safeguarding the continuity and growth of the region’s MedTech sector. Centres of excellence and accelerators include:

The Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre.
Precision Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre (PMS-IC).
Medical Device Manufacturing Centre.

Wales
Businesses looking to start-up or locate in Wales can benefit from a wide range of relocation incentives from a number of agencies including the Welsh Government. Angels Invest Wales is part of the Development Bank of Wales, with an established network of over 1,000 investors, helps to match businesses with potential investors.

Local accelerators include:

Accelerate is led by Life Sciences Hub Wales, in collaboration with local universities. The £24m programme offers access to the academic expertise, in-depth understanding of the life science ecosystem, and cutting-edge facilities that innovators and entrepreneurs need to get their idea off the ground.

Health Technology Wales is a national body working to promote the use of health-technologies that offer the most benefit for the people of Wales.

Clinical Innovation Accelerator is a joint venture between Cardiff University and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board that aims to accelerate the translation of clinical innovation into improvements in health and clinical services.

Wales is at the forefront of eHealth research and maximises the use of routine data for research. NHS Wales permits access to anonymised healthcare data for the whole population in one database and allows clinical trials to access three million people with a single co-ordinated permission process. Welsh universities are home to 12,000 life sciences students and take part in a wide range of research and technology projects, offering meaningful partnering opportunities for life sciences businesses.

Welsh centres of excellence include world-class research institutes:

Centre for NanoHealth.
Centre of Excellence in Mobile and Emerging Technologies (CEMET)

More information

Academic Health Science Network (AHSN)

National Health Services (NHS)