Innovation UK > News > Healthcare > Life-science leader

As a leader in the world scientific community, and a proven incubator for young and dynamic business talent, the UK is at the forefront of the fast-growing lifesciences sector. Home to the National Health Service (NHS), the largest publicly funded healthcare system in the world (spending over £90bn a year), the UK is a recognised global hub for life-sciences creativity and delivery, enabling businesses to drive innovation right through to market success.

Tomorrow Options

Portuguese medical devices company Tomorrow Options recently set up a subsidiary in the UK after receiving assistance from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI). The firm, which has devised a unique way to detect foot ulcers in diabetes patients, approached UKTI for advice after deciding that the UK was a key target market.

“There is a clear need for our product in the UK, which has the highest incidence of diabetes in Europe,” explains Paulo Ferreira dos Santos, Co-Founder of Tomorrow Options. “We also knew that the NHS is interested in new technologies that can help with patient care without costing a fortune.” After joining UKTI’s Soft Landing Zone programme, with a view to exploring opportunities in the UK, Tomorrow Options was introduced to a pilot of an initiative being trialled in Yorkshire. Three months later, the company decided to open a UK subsidiary, based at the University of Sheffield.

“The support we have received in the UK has been amazing,” enthuses dos Santos, “surpassing all our expectations.”

www.tomorrow-options.com

UK life-sciences organisations and laboratories are pioneers in exciting new fields such as stem-cell research, aided by the UK’s progressive regulatory regime in such areas. These and other cutting-edge developments are helping to deliver new treatments for long-standing ailments, such as diabetes, asthma and obesity.

UK life-sciences companies are pioneers in future growth areas such as regenerative and stratified medicine, which will help meet future challenges such as an ageing population and obesity, and help cancer treatments be more effective.

The UK is home to both multinational pharmaceutical giants and to small innovative life-science companies. Five of the world’s best-selling pharmaceuticals were developed in the UK, the UK medical biotechnology sector leads Europe in the number of drugs in all stages of clinical development, and more than one third of Europe’s bio-pharmaceutical clinical trials take place in the UK’s various advanced research facilities.

UK Trade & Investment

As the UK government’s inward investment agency, it’s our responsibility to understand the UK’s strengths and to encourage investment wherever opportunities exist. This means that we can help your company research emerging opportunities and get a new operation up and running as quickly as possible.

Our services include:

• Impartial advice on where and how to set up business in the UK
• In-depth tailored information, including advice on R&D, tax, human capital and visas
• Introductions to professional advisers and key contacts
• Access to lists of professional service organisations that can support your move to the UK
• Access to life-science specialists who have a strong background in the sector
• Practical help, including visits to suitable locations, finding business partners and accessing financial incentives
• Investment aftercare
• Access to UK government to voice views on business regulation and policy.

Take advantage of these services and you too could be part of the UK life-sciences success story.

For more information, visit:
www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk

The UK’s medical technology sector is also growing rapidly, with the largest share in Europe at just over 2,000 companies, the majority of which are SMEs. A major contributor to the UK’s success in life-sciences is the strength of its skills base. According to OECD statistics, the UK, which has four of the world’s top 10 universities, has the highest number of life sciences degree-level graduates annually in Europe.

The UK’s research environment is also world class, with the country ranked as the best performer in the G8 leading economies per unit of R&D spend. UK researchers are responsible for 9% of the world’s scientific papers, producing 16 research papers per US$1m of research funding, compared to 9.2 in the USA and 3.6 in Japan. It is therefore no surprise that UK scientists have won over 70 Nobel Prizes.

Almirall

In January 2008, Spanish drug manufacturer Almirall opened up an office near London, expanding its European presence. “It had been our goal to move into the UK market since we decided to expand internationally,” says Carlos Gallardo, General Manager of Almirall in the UK and Ireland. “Happily, we are doing even better than anticipated.”

Almirall received invaluable assistance from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) when planning its move. “UKTI was instrumental in quickly getting us up to speed on the UK market,” recalls Gallardo. “Its advisers gave us information on the local markets for dermatological and respiratory products and also put us in touch with government contacts who helped answer questions on local regulations. From beginning to end, setting up in the UK was a smooth process.”

For more information, visit: www.almirall.com

As a result, the UK is recognised across the world as a hotbed of activity throughout the life-sciences market – something which has attracted high levels of foreign direct investment. Recent examples include US pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer’s announcement that it is growing its presence in Cambridge, focused on Regenerative Medicine Research, and United Therapeutics’ decision to expand its European headquarters in Surrey, a move likely to generate significant job creation over the next few years.

Given the UK’s world-beating infrastructure, investorfriendly regulatory and IP environment and its potential as a springboard to mainland Europe and beyond, such high-quality investment looks set to continue long into the future.

Xiangxue Pharmaceuticals

In 2007, Chinese pharmaceutical company Xiangxue set up a research centre in Cambridge to investigate traditional Eastern medicines. “We looked to the UK because of its reputation as a leader in pharmaceutical research,” states Frank Wu, CEO of XiangCam, Xiangxue’s UK branch. “We wanted to take advantage of its world-class research institutions, and Cambridge, with its top-rate facilities, seemed the natural location.”

Before establishing its operations in the UK, Xiangxue worked closely with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), which provided the company with information about the local bio-medical research community, invited it to networking events and pointed the firm in the direction of technology and legal specialists. “Without the help we got from organisations like UKTI, we would not have been as successful,” says Wu. “We can turn to them for assistance at any time.”

The office for Life Sciences

The establishment of the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) in January 2009, led by Lord Drayson, Minister for Science and Innovation, clearly signals the importance that the UK places on the life-sciences industry. The Office for Life Sciences has worked in partnership with industry to agree a set of actions, published 14 July 2009 in the Life Science Blueprint. The Blueprint actions form a package of measures that has the potential to transform the UK lifesciences industry, by ensuring that the industry realises its potential as a major driver of economic growth, and of improved health and well being.

Key Blueprint actions include:

• Creating an Innovation Pass that will give patients faster access to cutting-edge medicines
• A UK Innovation Investment Fund to invest in technology-based businesses with high-growth potential. The UK government will invest £150m alongside private-sector investment on an equal basis
• Measures to ensure that the NHS leads the way in the uptake of groundbreaking and cost-effective medicines and technologies
• £18 million in investment by the Technology Strategy Board to capitalise fully on the UK’s leading global position in regenerative medicine.

For more details of the Blueprint visit:
www.bis.gov.uk/innovation/business_support/ols
To contact the OLS team e-mail: ols@bis.gsi.gov.uk