Strengths

As the life sciences industry in Scotland continues to grow rapidly, drug development has the potential to deliver significant rewards for Scotland-based businesses.

Strengths and benefits of drug discovery and development in Scotland

Scotland is an ideal location for conducting drug discovery research. In recent years there’s been a huge influx of investment into the industry, and new, high-tech facilities have been developed that give Scotland the edge and capability to carry out research at the very highest level.

Some of the world’s leading drug development companies can testify to the exceptional facilities and infrastructure that Scotland offers.

Through these resources and world-renowned scientific expertise, Scotland is setting the standards for excellence in the life sciences industry.

There’s a wide variety of high-calibre office and laboratory solutions to meet the needs of your life sciences company. This is particularly true around the cities of Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, where 80 percent of the Scottish life sciences industry is located, thereby enabling the establishment of a more efficient supply chain.

Skills and expertise

  • Ready talent pool – Scotland’s high standard of academic achievement in life sciences ensures a steady stream of fresh expertise into biotech industries 
  • Drug development in progress − Scotland has a pipeline of drugs currently underway at different stages of development, accounting for 25 percent of UK total

High-quality support infrastructure

  • Scottish life sciences sector comprises over 640 companies, employing over 32,000 staff 
  • Scotland’s supportive funding environment is backed by the highest ethical research standards – grants are available for investment and to support innovation projects, such as SMART:Scotland and R&D grants
  • Company spin-out joint venture and licensing opportunities are available
  • Support network including 42 drug delivery organisations and a supply chain of 286 organisations

Collaboration

  • Close network of life sciences enterprises and research institutes
  • Extensive links between industry and academia support innovative research and development 
  • Access to the GlobalScot network – an elite group of life sciences professionals based around the world, who have an affiliation with Scotland

Cost-competitive

  • Wide variety of cost-competitive facilities such as high-calibre office and laboratory solutions at Edinburgh BioQuarter and West of Scotland Science Park 
  • Cost-effective workforce − a strong work ethic, low attrition rates and competitive salary rates reflect Scotland’s highly skilled workforce

Learn about our support services to help drug discovery and development in Scotland