A Global Life Sciences Hub

Our Global Growth Programme is a unique, fully funded support package designed to help life science and data-driven healthcare businesses enter and scale in the UK. As a leading European destination for Foreign Direct Investment, there is no better time to take advantage of the lucrative UK market.

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One of the largest benefits of the UK’s life sciences sector within health and care is our National Health Service (NHS). Established in 1948 and recognised as the world’s largest publicly funded healthcare system, the NHS provides free care to over 1 million patients every 24 hours.

International life sciences investors looking to grow in the UK can benefit in multiple ways directly from the NHS. With its centralised healthcare system and infrastructure, the NHS provides access to a diverse patient population, making it a model environment for conducting clinical trials and research studies. Businesses can collaborate to conduct tests and gather data to validate the efficacy and credibility of their products.

The NHS also allows for the generation and collection of real-world evidence. Electronic health records can be used to collect data on the effectiveness of different products and services. International life sciences investors can utilise this information to support regulatory submissions, access markets and complete health technology assessments.

NHS collaboration provides clear guidance on regulatory requirements, expediting approval pathways, and supporting successful market entry for products and therapies. This facilitates greater market access and adoption and, given the NHS’s global credibility, can lead to reimbursement, formal inclusion and widespread adoption.

Consistently recognised as a centre of academic excellence, the UK enjoys a rich and diverse life sciences talent pool that supports an ecosystem of leading academic research institutions, industry players and the government.

The UK is home to four of the world’s top ten universities for life sciences and medicine. This spans a diverse range of clinicians, researchers and scientists, who utilise state-of-the-art facilities to develop their learning across various life sciences disciplines.

Across the UK there are a multitude of research facilities across all life sciences disciplines, including genomics and genetics, biomedicine, cancer science, pathology and many others, which focus on advancing discovery, insight and innovation. The Medical Devices Testing and Evaluation Centre (MD-TEC), Institute of Translational Medicine, the Institute of Digital Healthcare (IDH), the West Midlands Regional Genetics Laboratory (WMRGL), and a multitude of others all play a pivotal role in collaborating with businesses by offering access to facilities for research and testing, development, patient information, and more to advance in the sector.

The WMRGL is the largest genomics facility in the UK and one of the largest in Europe. It has extensive expertise in digitalising and integrating diagnostic data, including clinical, genomic and pathological intelligence. It also has vast diagnostic capabilities – utilising predictive health and personal medicine technologies such as machine learning, AI and data analytics. A trusted research environment, WMRGL can support companies by interrogating data sets, advising on clinical trial planning, and collaborating with academic and clinical partners in undertaking cutting-edge research to advance the field of genomics.

Ranked 4th in the Global Innovation Index 2023 and 7th globally in the Life Sciences 2030 Index, the UK has a strong history of innovation that continues to this day.

The UK is at the forefront of scientific discovery, with the development of stem cells and IVF, and the application of artificial intelligence and data science to biological problems all being UK breakthroughs and a testament to our unparalleled science base.

Backed by a $1 trillion valued tech sector – the world’s third largest and the largest in Europe – life sciences companies investing in the UK can take advantage of its technological capabilities that include artificial intelligence, immersive technologies, 5G and more to advance trials, products, and services. By tapping into local world-class universities, companies can benefit from a progressive life sciences infrastructure which includes an array of lab space, science parks, incubators and accelerators to scale, and manufacturing facilities.

The UK stands out internationally as a global hub for life sciences, ranking second to the USA. This standing has led to major international companies such as AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Pfizer establishing a presence in the UK.

In March 2024, AstraZeneca reinforced their confidence in the UK as they announced their plans to invest a further £650 million – with £450 million invested into the research, development and manufacture of vaccines and the remaining £200 million used at their biomedical campus.