Healthcare and life sciences
Rapid response to COVID-19
UK researchers are at the forefront of COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutics development. Due to the well-established and interconnected healthcare and research system of the UK life sciences community, it was possible to respond rapidly and pool together resources from the NHS with academia and industry.
Our history of heavy investment in life sciences allowed further resources to be directed to COVID-19 research and support manufacturers and researchers developing treatments.
Opportunity
There are global life sciences clusters connecting investors with customers, collaborators, supply chains, and innovation partners. The UK has more medical products in development than any other country in Europe. This generates a turnover of £74bn and exports of £30bn.
World-leading subsectors
The UK life sciences ecosystem is a dynamic space for bold, high-risk scientific research and application in medicine.
Download our factsheets for more information on investing in:
- UK Life Sciences (PDF)
- MedTech (PDF)
- Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (PDF)
- Clinical Research (PDF)
- Medicines Manufacturing (PDF)
5,800+
life science companies
248,000+
people employed in life sciences
1st
for life sciences research in the G7 by citation impact
£80bn
R&D funding pledged over the next ten years
11,000+
people employed in AI and digital health
65m
people served by the NHS
Research and development
The UK is at the forefront of global scientific exploration, invention and innovation. The future of the already highly productive science base is secured by a commitment to increase R&D spending to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. UK researchers and institutions have pioneered major scientific breakthroughs – from the discovery of penicillin and the structure of DNA to advancements in neuroscience and medical imaging, and developments in stem cells and in vitro fertilisation.
Government commitment
The UK has a long-term industrial strategy providing billions of pounds of funding to deliver the next generation of life changing treatments and technologies. A Grand Challenge mission, (which brings government, industry and organisations together to tackle problems), will transform the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases by 2030.
The right environment
The UK offers leading-edge research and innovation platforms to test, bring to market and commercialise the next generation of discoveries. It is one of the world’s easiest places to do business, and offers one of the best tax environments for R&D.
Leading edge technology
The UK had one in four of the top 100 companies in the 2018 Global Digital Health 100. It has grown Europe’s leading cluster for cell and gene therapies and continues to build national infrastructure for advanced therapies. The NHS is the first national healthcare system to introduce genomics into mainstream medicine.
AstraZeneca and University of Oxford landmark partnership to deliver COVID-19 vaccine globally
Funded by a £65.5m grant from UK government and led by the Jenner Institute University of Oxford, and the Oxford Vaccine Group, researchers are working at an unprecedented pace to advance into late-stage clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. In collaboration with multiple study sites across the UK, the phase I trial in healthy adult volunteers began in April, with more than 1,000 immunisations completed. The next study will enrol up to 10,260 adults and children and will involve several partner institutions across the country. The landmark partnership with AstraZeneca for the commercialisation and manufacturing of their potential vaccine will enable rapid vaccination around the world if the candidate proves to be effective. AstraZeneca announced it has an overall supply capacity of more than 2 billion doses per year beginning first deliveries in September 2020, enabling large-scale distribution globally.
Find out more
Why choose UK life sciences
Learn more about why companies choose UK life sciences.
Video
A journey through the UK life sciences ecosystem.
Choose UK Life Sciences (YouTube)
