Key facts

The universities of Dundee and St Andrews are ranked among the top 10 best international academic institutions for scientists to work in

(Source : The Scientist)

Scotland is a global leader in animal bioscience and has the largest concentration of animal science related expertise anywhere in Europe

Edinburgh BioQuarter, a landmark £600 million life sciences facility, makes Scotland one of the world’s top ten centres for biomedical commercialisation

Scotland is raising its profile in life sciences research − the University of Dundee produces more life sciences citations than Cambridge and Oxford, and is one of the leading scientific workplaces in the world

(Source : The Scientist)

Five of the world's top 10 life sciences companies are based in Scotland: Quintiles, PPD, Charles River Technologies, Kendle, and Aptuit

In 2010, Scotland's life sciences companies attracted £36 million of equity investment

Scotland has a wealth of specific expertise in key therapeutic areas − cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, central nervous system diseases, viruses, immunology, stem cells and regenerative technology

Scotland is home to the second largest life sciences cluster in the UK

More medical research per head of the population is conducted in Scotland than anywhere else in Europe, making it one of Europe’s fastest growing sectors

Scotland has a substantial clinical research base and clinical trials expertise, such as Charles River Laboratories, Pleiad Devices and PPD

Scotland has been named one of the 'Top 5 Global Locations' for carrying out biotechnology research by respected industry magazine Fierce Biotech

(Source : Fierce Biotech)

More than £58 milion of planned capital expenditure in an exciting range of investment and R&D projects was announced in 2009

(Source : Scottish Life Sciences 2009 Review)

Life sciences in Scotland has access to around 60 university and research facilities

Scotland's life sciences sector has access to 17,000 research staff and strong links with Europe, Asia and the US

World-leading Roslin Institute is home to 500 top animal research scientists at the forefront of tackling animal health and welfare issues around the globe

The life sciences sector is worth over £3.1 billion to the Scottish economy annually

Scotland is world leader in terms of collaboration, funding and research excellence

Scotland is home to more than 640 life sciences organisations, including Charles River Laboratories, Life Technologies, Johnson and Johnson and Millipore, employing over 32,000 staff

70 percent of life sciences companies based in Scotland focus on human healthcare, including drug discovery and development, therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and contract research services