- New authorities funding will assist make the boldest concepts in UK life sciences a actuality – from placing robots to work in factories making medicines, to turning spent nuclear gas into the following era of most cancers therapies
- As a key pillar of the Industrial Strategy, unleashing our £100 billion life sciences sector is essential to the federal government’s plans for financial progress, higher well being and nationwide renewal
- UK’s world main standing as life sciences hub boosted by £800 million Barts Life Sciences Cluster plans and British Business Bank dedication to new nine-figure Venture Capital (VC) fund
Breakthrough analysis on how AI and robots might make medicines factories work higher and how used gas from nuclear energy might be recycled into most cancers radiotherapies are all in line for a lift because of greater than £74 million in authorities and {industry} backing for the UK’s life sciences innovators.
The UK’s life sciences sector is a power for good and for progress, producing turnover of £150 billion yearly. As the funding being introduced right now underlines, Britain’s life sciences innovators are remodeling what’s potential in healthcare: from unlocking new methods of tackling the scourge of antibiotic-resistant infections, which is instantly accountable for over one million deaths a yr, by means of to discovering methods to recycle anaesthetic gasoline, which might save the NHS round £5 million kilos a yr and scale back the influence on the atmosphere.
Today (Tuesday 18 November) the federal government is awarding greater than £54 million throughout 8 modern R&D projects by means of the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme – a joint effort between authorities and {industry} that’s funded by means of the VPAG Investment Programme – and additional boosted by greater than £20 million in further backing from {industry}.
This will help work to make medicines manufacturing extra environmentally pleasant and environment friendly – how anaesthetic gasoline might be recycled and reused, how spent gas from Britain’s nuclear energy stations might be transformed into the following era of most cancers therapies, in addition to efforts to make medicines manufacturing much less wasteful by placing AI and robotics to work in British factories. This is being delivered by Innovate UK.
Meanwhile, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is being awarded almost £1 million from the Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund for work to handle regulatory challenges round ‘engineered bacteriophage products’. Bacteriophages are a sort of virus that destroy micro organism. Specially-designed bacteriophages might present a solution to the rising downside of antibiotic-resistant micro organism. The work of the MHRA and its companions throughout 5 regulatory businesses, along with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), will make sure that regulation on this essential subject is match for objective, and not a barrier to protected innovation.
Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall stated:
The life sciences sector is a core a part of our Industrial Strategy for good cause: it turns over £150 billion a yr, helps a whole bunch of 1000’s of jobs, and is a magnet for funding. Its success can be essential to the financial progress we’d like, to ship this authorities’s mission of nationwide renewal.
Life sciences are additionally basic to our well being and wellbeing. It is just because of the brilliance of docs and scientists that so many illnesses of the previous can now be handled, prevented and cured. We are backing Britain’s life sciences innovators to maintain pushing ahead, to search out new and higher methods to enhance and save lives.
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle stated:
We’re decided to make the UK a life sciences superpower. That’s why its considered one of our 8 precedence sectors in our trendy Industrial Strategy – so we will construct on our strengths and keep on the forefront of innovation.
Britain’s life sciences sector is considered one of our biggest nationwide belongings, driving breakthroughs that save lives, create high-skilled jobs, and appeal to world-class funding. Today’s funding exhibits our dedication to backing the boldest concepts serving to ship the financial progress and nationwide renewal this authorities is concentrated on.
Health and Innovation Minister Dr Zubir Ahmed stated:
From modern most cancers remedies to arming our clinicians within the combat towards antimicrobial resistance, this authorities is backing Britain as a life sciences and medical expertise powerhouse.
The NHS has been a pioneer since its creation, and it falls to our era to proceed this by harnessing technological and scientific advances.
I’m assured that if we mix the ingenuity of our main scientists with the would possibly of our NHS, we will ship a well being service which is as soon as once more there for its sufferers and the envy of the world.
The package deal of help being introduced right now comes as ministers host leaders from throughout the life sciences sector, the investor group, and the UK well being system at Downing Street, to mark London Life Sciences Week – when buyers, researchers, policymakers and businesspeople from throughout the sector converge on the capital.
The opening of this week has additionally seen wider efforts introduced to drive funding into UK life sciences, which reveal the sector’s compelling enchantment as a magnet for capital. The British Business Bank has introduced a €30 million dedication to enterprise capital agency Sofinnova’s new €637 million, pan-European VC fund, Sofinnova Capital XI. This new fund will again a brand new era of pioneering biopharmaceutical and medical expertise firms within the UK and past. This builds on the Bank’s sturdy observe report on this space – having made commitments of £435 million to 13 life science funds.
While Barts Health NHS Trust have introduced plans to drive life sciences funding into the capital, by partnering with personal buyers BGO, H.I.G. Capital and Lateral, and supported by educational companions, to launch the Barts Life Sciences Cluster, in Whitechapel, which is anticipated to attract in additional than £800 million in funding.
Life sciences companies are a key financial driver for the UK, as proven by recently-published figures exhibiting that London-based companies pulled in £1.6 billion in enterprise capital funding to date in 2025 – greater than triple the quantity raised by Paris, and cementing the UK as Europe’s pure house for life sciences funding.
The UK life sciences sector helps over 300,000 jobs up and down the nation, and is foundational to the UK’s well being and wellbeing. It has been earmarked within the Industrial Strategy, as one of many 8 key sectors that may drive progress over the approaching decade. We are fostering an atmosphere the place innovation thrives and companies flourish.
Recent successes for the sector embrace:
- BioNTech’s £1 billion
- 10-year funding, Wellcome collectively backing our £600 million Health Data Research Service
- US developer Prologis’ £3 billion funding into the Cambridge Biomedical Campus
- GSK investing £50 million within the GSK-Oxford Cancer Immuno-Prevention Programme.
While US biotech agency Moderna not too long ago opened a state-of-the-art new Innovation and Technology Centre in Oxfordshire, being delivered as a part of a £1 billion programme of funding within the UK.
Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA), Professor Dame Angela McLean, stated:
By championing rigorous analysis and collaboration, we will unlock scientific innovation that improves affected person care and drives financial progress. This funding will help UK scientists and engineers to ship additional breakthroughs in cutting-edge fields, reminiscent of engineering biology, to handle society’s most urgent well being challenges.
Lawrence Tallon, MHRA Chief Executive, stated:
Antibiotic resistance threatens to show again the clock again on trendy medication and our capacity to deal with on a regular basis infections, in addition to threatening meals manufacturing and general biosecurity.
Innovative options, reminiscent of engineered bacteriophages, provide nice promise in addressing this looming disaster. To realise their full potential, we should guarantee these applied sciences are developed safely and responsibly, inside a transparent regulatory framework.
Working hand in hand with our key companions, we purpose to get protected and efficient phage merchandise to sufferers, farmers and meals producers shortly, bridging regulatory gaps, and offering readability for innovators – all whereas sustaining the very best requirements of security and public confidence.
Dr Stella Peace, Managing Director and Executive Director for Healthy Living and Agriculture Domain at Innovate UK, stated:
Through Innovate UK’s Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme, these projects have the potential to rework how medicines are produced within the UK. This funding in sustainable innovation helps the federal government’s Modern Industrial Strategy, accelerates progress in the direction of internet zero, strengthens the resilience of the life sciences sector, and drives long-term financial progress.
Joe Edwards, ABPI Director, UK Competitiveness and Devolved Nations, stated:
The pharmaceutical {industry}’s funding into this programme exhibits our dedication to trendy and sustainable manufacturing practices. We are backing the modern concepts wanted to construct a resilient manufacturing base for the UK and enhance how medicines are made.
Professor Mark Sutton, Scientific Leader for Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Biotechnology at UKHSA stated:
We urgently want to search out new, modern methods to deal with infections. Engineered bacteriophages have the potential to revolutionise how we fight micro organism that may resist antibiotics. This funding marks a step ahead in growing entry to this game-changing expertise.
We sit up for exploring how engineered phages can work in follow, serving to get them from the laboratory into the arms of those that want them. UKHSA has not too long ago established a nationwide bacteriophage assortment, placing us in a novel place to help this work.
Notes to editors
The Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme is funded as a part of the broader VPAG Investment Programme agreed as a part of the 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG). The VPAG Investment Programme is a joint government-industry programme to strengthen the UK’s world competitiveness in well being and life sciences and drive innovation-led progress.
Enabled by circa £400 million of funding from scheme members, it’s focusing on funding throughout the UK, with initiatives in 3 focus areas:
- medical trials
- well being expertise evaluation
- manufacturing
Breakdown of the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme awards
Beyond single-use plastics: processing innovation driving sustainable pharmaceutical packaging (SusPack)
£8 million grant plus additional £1.9 million from {industry}, led by the National Physical Laboratory. Advancing modern, round and sustainable options to fulfill low-carbon recycling and waste-reduction targets in main and secondary pharmaceutical packaging.
Biocat Copilot – Digital Biocatalysis for Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing
£4 million grant plus additional £1 million from {industry}, led by DISYN BIOTEC LTD. Delivering an built-in digital AI ecosystem that transforms biocatalysis from a distinct segment specialty right into a readily accessible, predictable, and quickly implementable technique for sustainable API manufacturing.
Environmental Peptide Production
£6.4 million plus additional £1.3 million from {industry}, led by Origin Peptides Limited. Create a commercially prepared peptide manufacturing system with novel peptide synthesis expertise, to make life-saving medicines with the smallest environmental footprint and on the lowest price.
EcoCAR
Sustainable CAR T Cell Manufacture; £4.9 million plus additional £2.1 million from {industry}, led by Royal Free Hospital. Developing a extra sustainable CAR-T cell manufacturing course of that reduces waste by means of manufacture in a single low-volume vessel leading to a “one-pot” CAR-T manufacturing resolution.
InSPIREmed – Integrated Spectroscopy and Photonics for Increased Productivity and Resource Efficiency in Medicines Manufacture
£8.1 million plus additional £1.9 million from {industry}, led by Fraunhofer UK Research Limited. Delivering and implementing advances in photonic sensing throughout a number of phases of medicines manufacturing to scale back waste and power utilization whereas growing course of yields.
Project Alpha 10.6 (Harvesting the UK’s Radionuclide Assets for Medical Applications)
£9.9 million, co-led by United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory Ltd and Medicines Discovery Catapult. Exploring how you can make precious medical remedies sustainably from legacy nuclear materials, unlocking the UK’s potential to develop promising new most cancers therapies for sufferers.
Circularity and Sustainability in Volatile Anaesthetics
£2.9 million plus additional £0.6 million from {industry}, led by Sagetech Medical Equipment. Optimising and scaling up the method of seize, restoration, and remanufacture of risky anaesthetics, accountable for roughly 4M tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents every year.
A Sustainable Future Factory
£9.9 million plus additional £3.9 million from {industry}, led by AstraZeneca UK Limited. Integrating robotics, automation, synthetic intelligence (AI), and data-driven approaches into the following era of medicines manufacturing applied sciences, to create sustainable, future-ready factories.