The number of life sciences start-ups and spin-outs is up by nearly a quarter across the UK, but lagging somewhat in Scotland.
The latest report from property investor JLL and life sciences developer We are Pioneer Group shows a significant uptick from the last time it surveyed the industry in 2019, but the disparity between UK growth as a whole and the level pegging in Scotland is largely put down to a fall in the number of companies being spun-out from Scottish universities.
While Scottish universities continue to contribute around 33% of the total start-ups in the sector, this figure is down significantly from nearly 50% in the 2019 report.
The University of Edinburgh leads the field among Scottish universities and is seventh in the UK overall.
The amount invested in Scottish start-ups during the five-year period covered by the report was a record £253m - up from the £82m recorded in the 2019 report - and driven by large fund raises by the likes of Amphista Therapeutics and Enterobiotix.
Public sector investor Scottish Enterprise participated in half of life science start-up investments in Scotland.
Across the UK, the pharmaceutical and biotech sub-sector, which comprises companies developing new drugs and vaccines, saw the greatest growth - and comprises 56% of the increase in new life sciences start-ups. The sub-sector also secured 69% of total UK investment in life sciences start-ups.
Investors are also increasingly supporting the formation of new companies using artificial intelligence to discover drugs or deliver healthcare more effectively, with the share of investment garnered by these businesses more than tripling compared to the last report.
The profile of start-ups in Scotland closely matches that of the UK as a whole, albeit with slightly more pharmaceutical and biotech companies and fewer in digital health.
Dr Glenn Crocker, executive director of venture capital investments at We Are Pioneer Group, said: “The surge in the number of and levels of investment in new life science companies is very good news, because the start-ups of today are the billion-pound companies of five years’ time – and this ultimately represents an enormous opportunity to deliver life-changing technologies to patients.
“With our science parks in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the high investment in spin-outs from Scottish universities and the efforts of Scottish Enterprise, there is a real ecosystem to support life sciences start-ups in Scotland.
Chris Walters, head of UK life sciences at JLL, added: “The UK is uniquely suited for success in life-sciences as it has a string of world-leading universities to complement the financial and digital might of London.
“This success story is however not London centric, with the number of new start ups being created across the UK being almost double the rate of ten years ago.”
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