A high-level group bringing together Scotland’s NHS, universities and life sciences sector says the country can be the fastest growing health innovation life science cluster in Europe.

The Scottish government today published the Investment in Life Sciences Working Group’s ‘roadmap to investment for health innovation life sciences and healthtech in Scotland’.

The report makes 18 recommendations for how the Scottish government, enterprise agencies, universities, NHS and care services, and life science trade bodies, can work together better to attract funding and new talent, as well as supporting the development and commercialisation of innovation in medicines and health technology.

It says that working together as a single ‘cluster’, Scotland’s universities, companies and NHS can rival the highly successful partnerships forged between their counterparts in London, Cambridgeshire and the South East of England.

Chair Ian Campbell says in the report that Scotland is well-placed to attract investment in Scotland’s health innovation life sciences and health tech ecosystem:

“The opportunity for developing a single, connected and collaborative national cluster to support continued growth has never been greater or more necessary.

“Our aim has been to build consensus around recommendations to help the sector continue to flourish by further enhancing the conditions for investment.

“As a working group, we have set an ambition to become the fastest growing health innovation life science cluster in Europe.”

The so-called ‘Campbell Report’ focuses on investment for scaling companies and the potential for start-ups and scale-ups to be 'engines of innovation and anchors of future industry'.

The recommendations include creating a single Scotland-wide national health innovation life science cluster which, by clearly stating Scotland’s strengths, can be promoted internationally.

Several of the recommendations address the need to build entrepreneurial skills into the curriculum for life science students, alongside creating opportunities for them to work on placements with industry and to be supported to examine how ideas they hatch in universities can be funded through to eventually reaching patients.

The report authors acknowledge that backing the development of ideas in health and care can be more challenging than putting money into other sectors, stating:

‘The nature of health innovation life sciences and healthtech, including longer pre-revenue stages and higher earlier stage capital raising requirements, means that investment… should be considered based on the bespoke needs of health innovation companies.’

The report finds that new initiatives are often only adopted locally by health and care services, despite evidence that national efforts could be more fruitful.

‘A culture of innovation across health and social care services, supported by the required infrastructure, is needed to manage change and to continue to improve patient care,’ the report says.

Scotland’s Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, Ivan McKee says the government will now look at the group’s recommendations:

“I have been able to see firsthand the wider support for these recommendations and a shared commitment to deliver on them.

“I look forward to reviewing the recommendations in detail and ensuring that the Scottish government is supporting colleagues from across the ecosystem to take these forward as an integrated element of wider global capital investment plan delivery.”

The minister’s co-chair on the Life Sciences Scotland Industry Leadership Group, Dave Tudor, says Scotland’s broad mix of organisations researching and developing products and services makes it an attractive place for investors:

“The investment analysis and recommendations by this group will play a pivotal role in taking the sector to the next level.

“The recommendations are ambitious and are fully aligned to the mission set out in the Scottish life sciences strategy.

“The life sciences Scotland Industry Leadership Group are fully committed to supporting the delivery of these key recommendations for the sector.”

Read more: SNP backs creation of Scottish vaccines industry; Innovators need ‘strong understanding’ of regulation; Citizens should be the curators of their health data.

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