Life science start-up report reveals boom in new life science ventures

BioCity, a life science incubator and business collective has released its biennial publication, the UK Life Science Start-Up Report, an in-depth analysis of emerging businesses within the life sciences across the UK.
The report looks at the prevalence of life science start-ups in the UK over the past five years and the broader landscape in which they operate to also asses the quality of UK life science start-ups.
The report documents an unprecedented period of growth for the life sciences, thanks in part to a change in the funding landscape, expressed in a four-fold increase to £2.8 billion of investment in early-stage ventures, compared to the previous five-year period.
Multiple factors are highlighted as driving this expansion, but of greatest impact was Industry news January 2020 11 | the emergence of a number of significant venture funds able and willing to make very large investments in early stage businesses. Also identified as a contributing factor is the increasing use of smaller companies and academia as sources of innovation by large pharma companies aiming to counteract falling R&D productivity. Simultaneously, many universities such as Bristol, Newcastle and Aberdeen introduced a gear change in spin-out formation.
Author of the report, Dr Glenn Crocker said: “Both the number of companies starting up and the amount invested in them has taken off. We have seen a 50% increase in the number of companies and a four-fold increase in investment going into them; this will likely result in a substantial increase in the demand for space. We estimate that this cohort of businesses alone could require 1.4 million sq ft of specialist facilities over the next five years. One consequence of this demand growth is that real estate investors are being increasingly attracted to the sector.”