Life sciences and biotech
With more than 770 life sciences organisations employing more than 41,000 people, Scotland is one of the largest life sciences clusters in Europe. From global pharmaceutical companies to medical biotechnology startups, we’ve got the networks, support and skills you need to succeed.
7% growth each year
On track to reach a turnover of £8bn by 2025.
£56 million innovation centre
The industry-led Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre is a world-first.
£50 million venture capital fund
Led by Epidarex Capital for early stage, high growth, life science and health technology companies.
Life sciences snapshot
Scotland’s exciting life sciences sector covers everything from agritech and aquaculture, to medical devices and diagnostics, clinical applications, pharmaceutical services and healthcare.
The sector contributes £2.4bn gross value added to the Scottish economy and has seen 7% growth each year since 2010.
A strong collaboration across industry, the NHS (Scotland’s unified healthcare provider), universities and government makes Scotland a truly unique place for the life sciences sector. We have a strong track record of successful, efficient and safe clinical trials and have a number of innovation centres and centres of excellence to support businesses.
Work in a collaborative environment
Thanks to the close relationship with the NHS, companies in Scotland enjoy coordinated access to clinical investigators and patients through a single point of contact.
The Life Sciences Scotland Industry Leadership Group (LSS ILG) also help to facilitate collaboration by helping government policy-makers work with the industry to make sure Scotland remains an attractive place for companies in the life sciences sector.
“People tell us that there are not many places in the world where you can come and actually work with academics from universities and the NHS.”
Chris Packard, research and development director, NHS Scotland
Our skills and expertise
Over 41,000 people currently work in our life sciences sector, delivering invaluable expertise and innovative thinking. In 2018, 35,000 students graduated with undergraduate or postgraduate degrees in various scientific subjects, many of whom will bring new skills, ideas and research to the sector.
2018 graduate stats
Biological sciences: 7,025
Including 5,065 undergraduates and 1,955 postgraduates
Subjects allied to medicine: 8,365
Including 5,730 undergraduates and 2,640 postgraduates
Engineering and technology: 6,020
Including 3,725 undergraduates and 2,295 postgraduates
Sectors
Scotland has the edge when it comes to medtech opportunities. Tap into our talented workforce with expertise in everything from non-imaging diagnostics and surgical instruments to ophthalmic surgery and cardiovascular therapies.
Optos, a Scottish producer of retinal imaging devices is one of Europe's fastest-growing medtech company over the past five years.
Thanks to our support, the company now sells its eye testing devices worldwide and sees significant opportunities in Middle East and South America for disease detection in diabetes.
We help ambitious companies like Optos succeed and grow. Let us help you.
"You have friendly, well-educated, hard-working people, a beautiful environment and a local investor base that has a long history of backing risk...what more could you want?"
Douglas Anderson, founder, Optos
Medtech firm EnMovi (the latest venture from US-based parent company OrthoSensor Inc) has chosen Glasgow to advance its development of cutting-edge orthopaedic sensors and data analytics. The company has received £2.5 million R&D support from Scottish Enterprise and will use a new £8 million R&D base at University of Strathclyde to work on its products.
EnMovi will benefit greatly through co-location with similar businesses. It will also benefit from close collaboration with the university's academics, world-leading research and highly-skilled talent it produces in health tech.
“The support provided by Scottish Enterprise and our long-standing collaboration with the prestigious University of Strathclyde will enable us to continue the development of our innovative data analytics and wearable platform to improve patient outcomes globally.”
Roman Bensen, chief executive officer of EnMovi Ltd
Our world-class facilities, clinical trials expertise and comprehensive supply chain make Scotland the ideal location for clinical/pre-clinical research and drug manufacture.
Scotland has a history of drug discovery excellence and is home to over 150 pharma services and supply companies, including global leaders such as Quintiles, Encap Capsugel and young, innovative companies with cutting-edge technologies, such as Clyde Biosciences and Biopta.
Stirling-based Symbiosis has several specialist manufacturing capabilities that are unique in the UK. In June 2020, the company signed an agreement with multinational AstraZeneca to sterile manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine, known as AZD1222 for clinical trials.
Scotland is one of Europe’s top locations for the development of stem cell technologies, thanks to our expertise in cell therapy clinical trials and integrated academic, clinical and commercial infrastructure.
Scotland's companies are tackling some of the cell therapy industries’ most challenging issues - find out how you can work with them.
Why choose Scotland for regenerative medicine?
- World class MHRA-accredited GMP ATMP manufacturing facilities
- Cost effective logistic solutions to at least 27 major European cities within 24 hours
- Research-grade iPS cell manufacturing
- One of Europe’s largest and most highly regarded stem cell research hubs at the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine
"Thanks to the outstanding collaboration across NHS, academia, government and industry, Roslin Cells has been able to accelerate the expansion of its cell therapy manufacturing facilities based in the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine."
Aiden Courtney, CEO, Roslin Cells
Scotland's natural resources and research expertise create the perfect environment for bioscience and aquaculture studies and commercial opportunities.
We're experts in everything from sustainable fisheries and animal behaviour to breeding and pathophysiology.
“The Highlands and Islands are home to many of the aquaculture industry’s key players. With its strong transport links, Inverness sits right at the heart of the region’s thriving sector.”
Chris Matthews, FishVet Group Operations Director
Precision Medicine Living Lab
The Living Laboratory at the University of Glasgow’s Precision Medicine Living Lab has secured around £90 million funding and will set out to bring new science and innovation to a real-world clinical setting.
Based next to the city's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, it will foster cross-sector collaborations to exploit research for the benefit of patients.
It builds on Scotland's clinical and academic strengths within the life sciences community and Scotland’s reputation as a world leading centre of excellence in precision medicine.
Get the latest updates from Scotland’s life sciences & biotech industry
Success story: why GSK continues to invest in Scotland
Scotland is home to a thriving biocluster, providing the ideal environment for innovation and company growth. This attracts global companies from around the world, including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Between its two sites in Montrose and Irvine, GSK has a 100 years of manufacturing experience in Scotland.
A prime site for clinical trials
Thanks to strong collaboration with the NHS, running clinical trials in Scotland is a streamlined and efficient process, offering globally competitive trial recruitment and start-up times. Scotland can offer:
- Rapid recruitment thanks to a single national database of 5.3 million patient records
- Quick permission times – around 3 weeks for commercial projects and just under 2 weeks for non-commercial projects.
- A single point of access to clinical and research expertise
- Fast and efficient identification and coordination of multi-centre clinical research
- An extensive bio-banking resource that’s unrivalled in Europe.
This makes Scotland the ideal place for phase I, II and III clinical trials, post-market surveillance, biostatistics, regulatory compliance, data management and study monitoring.
A world-first innovation centre
New £56 million Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC) to be based in Scotland.
The UK innovation centre will revolutionise how medicines are manufactured and speed up the process of bringing new drugs to market. It aims to attract more than £80 million in research and development (R&D) investment by 2028. It will offer a unique service aimed at developing and adopting novel manufacturing techniques that pharma companies can use in their own manufacturing processes.
“There is no other facility like this in the world and is a fantastic endorsement of Scotland as an ideal place to invest in global excellence in high value manufacturing drawing on our skills, innovative companies and academic expertise.”
Linda Hanna, managing director of strategy and sectors, Scottish Enterprise
Centres of excellence
Biocluster sites in Scotland include:
- Edinburgh BioQuarter
- Biocity
- Dundee Drug Discovery Unit
- Inverness Campus
- Queen Elizabeth University Hospital
The Scottish Health Research and Innovation Ecosystem directory will help you navigate the health research and innovation landscape in Scotland including the NHS, clinical, academic and trade organisations.
Exporting from Scotland
Exporting from Scotland is a streamlined process thanks to our excellent worldwide networks. In 2017, the life sciences and biotech sector generated £1.3bn in exports.
Life science, biotech and pharmaceutical companies in Scotland
Curious about the kind of companies that thrive here? Looking for potential partners? Here are just a few of the life sciences companies that call Scotland home:
- Optos
- Quintiles
- Encap Capsugel
- Clyde Biosciences
- Biopta
- Roslin Cells
- NuCana
Read more about the following companies in our success stories section:
From diagnostics to therapeutics, the Scottish Life and Chemical Sciences Directory is your gateway to over 1000 companies and organisations in Scotland.
Further information
Life sciences in Scotland guide (PDF, 8.3MB)
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Our people and skills
Find out more about the workforce and skills you’ll have access to in Scotland.
Find your local SDI office
Interested in how Scotland could benefit your life sciences or biotech company? Get in touch with your local office to find out.
Get the latest updates from Scotland’s life sciences and biotech industry