The Future of UK Life Sciences – What is the Vision?

At Arttia Creative, we develop strategic partnerships with some of the most innovative Life Science businesses nationally and internationally to support their growth and success by showcasing their innovation within an increasingly competitive global ecosystem.

Every industry faces significant disruption and change due to the pandemic. However, the Life Sciences sector was one of those hardest hit. The sheer demand for critical care and personal protective equipment, monitoring and testing technologies, vital medicines, and vaccines meant Life Sciences were under pressure to produce or source products at an unprecedented rate safely.

This extraordinary effort in the UK would not have succeeded without agile operation strategies and extensive Government, NHS and Life Science sector collaboration.

The question now is, what happens next?

The UK’s research and innovation response to COVID-19 demonstrated how the country could be a global centre for innovation. Thus in July 2021, the UK Government published its Life Sciences Vision.

UK Life Sciences Vision – An Overview

The UK Life Sciences Vision is a ten-year plan. It builds on the progress achieved from the Life Science Industrial Strategy (2017) and the new ways of working developed by the UK Vaccine Taskforce during the pandemic. Strategy 2017 to update document.

The Vision aims to foster a culture of collaboration. Collaboration between all industry sectors, the broader academic research community, NHS and the Government to create a thriving Life Science sector tackling the seven major healthcare challenges facing the UK today.

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The seven missions are:

Improving translational capabilities in neurodegeneration and dementia.
Enabling early diagnosis and treatments, including immune therapies such as cancer vaccines.
Sustaining the UK position in novel vaccine discovery development and manufacturing.
Treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases and their major risk factors, including obesity.
Reducing mortality and morbidity from respiratory disease in the UK and globally.
Addressing the underlying biology of ageing.
Increasing the understanding of mental health conditions, including redefining diseases and developing translational tools to address them.

In developing the Vision, the Government has identified four preconditions of success that must be met over the next decade for the Vision to be deliverable:

NHS as an Innovation Partner. The NHS is critical to delivering nearly every element of the Vision at both a national and operational level.

Maintain and grow investment in science and research in Life Sciences. The UK’s competitiveness as a globally leading location for Life Sciences relies heavily on the UK’s science and research ecosystem.

Access to NHS health data to drive research and innovation. Ongoing public engagement, transparent use, and the highest standards in data protection are maintained to build public trust.

Access to Finance. Innovative UK Life Sciences companies need to be able to access capital to grow and innovate.

Central to the Life Sciences Vision is a focus on cultivating a business environment in which the UK sector are:

able to access finance for innovation-led growth,
regulated in an agile and efficient way (with the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency able to act independently),
incentivised to manufacture and commercialise their products in the UK.

To support this ambition, the Government has promised £200 million. This investment will unlock the potential of innovative UK Life Science businesses - enabling them to grow, scale up, and create high-skilled jobs in the UK. However, to fully deliver on the Vision, further long-term capital from private investors is needed to ensure the UK remains a world leader in Life Sciences innovation.

But what is not clear from the Vision document is how to achieve the objectives. The Life Science sector waits with bated breath for a clear plan of delivery.

UK Life Sciences and Research Ecosystem

The Vision acknowledges the UK's excellent science base and expertise in clinical research that leads the way in the global response to COVID-19.

It reflects the richness, diversity and deep heritage of a thriving Life Sciences sector (with two of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies) and modern centres of excellence distributed across the United Kingdom.

North East England is already a hot spot for Health and Life Sciences. It is home to more than 200 world-class biomedical institutions that employ 7000 people, with a large pool of high-quality graduates and potential new employees in science, technology, engineering and maths from top universities on the doorstep.

In addition, centres of excellence such as the Biosphere in the Newcastle Helix nurture an ecosystem of entrepreneurs, small and large companies, supported by an outstanding academic base, and broad expertise across all the key subsectors, including medtech, pharma, diagnostics and digital.

Newcastle Helix

One of Europe’s most exciting innovation hubs for tech and science businesses, the Newcastle Helix, occupies 24-acres in the heart of Newcastle, in the North East of England.

The Newcastle Helix is a testbed and collaborative ecosystem for public and private bodies unlike anything else in the UK. The Helix focuses on data science, urban science and life science and actively helps world-class researchers and businesses collaborate to bring brilliant innovations to the marketplace. It is home to big companies, start-ups, university researchers, three National Innovation Centres, and more. Together, they are working to transform the quality of life for families, communities, and cities worldwide.

The Biosphere

The Biosphere is Newcastle Helix's purpose-built home and centre of excellence for Life Sciences. It is a high-tech laboratory and office building dedicated to life science innovation, research, development, and commercialisation—a place where life sciences businesses can thrive.

The Biosphere has already attracted a cluster of biology and chemistry-based businesses, working across multiple disciplines within Life Sciences, from drug discovery to diagnostics to digital health. Some of the first companies to move into The Biosphere were Iksuda Therapeutics, NorthGene, Jiahua, MDNA Life Sciences, ExplantLab, Alcyomics, Atelerix, NewChem, BiBerChem, Demuris, Biosignatures and Cognassist.

The spirit of innovation is really alive in Newcastle, and the range and quality of the biosciences happening in The Biosphere will play a vital role in further enhancing our global reputation as a hotspot for life sciences.

Empowering the Life Science sector to showcase their innovation through high-performing websites and digital marketing

The Reality of a Competitive Life Science Sector

The UK is only one part of a much larger, exceptionally and increasingly competitive global ecosystem. Globally, the health and science sector is worth $1.25tn and the UK is already ranked third behind the US and China.

At Arttia Creative, we understand that differentiation in this noisy, fast-moving sector can be challenging.

Innovation, in and of itself, will rarely lead to success. Innovation needs marketing to create disruption and purpose in real life, find and reach customers, and attract private investors.

Crystal clear communication is a challenge. How do you turn innovation into excitement? It’s not easy to showcase your work in a way that grabs your audience’s attention.

Our specialist team work with global Life Science businesses, helping them showcase their innovation online, and answering key questions:

Who are you?
What do you do that's different?
Why should your customers care?
And why should investors approach you?

Our team can quickly distil science and present innovations, products and services online as compelling messages that resonate with clients, partners and investors.

The Takeaway.

Arttia Creative empowers established, innovative Life Science businesses like yours to tell your story and generate growth with world-leading, high-converting website strategy, design, branding, search visibility and creative digital marketing.

Are you looking for a strategic partner to help you stay ahead online?
Leave it to us while you concentrate on growing and upscaling your business.

Let’s Talk About Your Website Project.