Vibrant research base in UK Life Sciences
From the building blocks of the new genomic age, to the secrets of cells, to the physics that makes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) possible, UK science is world-class, offering industry an opportunity to partner with globally recognised pioneers and innovators.
Success stories
University of Warwick and Bosch Healthcare launch research facility
The UK’s capabilities and strengths
Government and Industry Partners
The Institute of Digital Healthcare (IDH) in Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick and Bosch Healthcare have launched a major research facility for developing digital healthcare technologies for people with life-threatening and chronic illnesses. WMG at the University of Warwick is working with Bosch Healthcare, Warwick Medical School and other partners on selected healthcare activities. A new IDH Learning Lab will design and trial novel digital healthcare technologies and aim to understand and evaluate the effectiveness of digital programmes in the health service.
Peter Fouquet, President of Bosch in the UK, said, “This approach is at the very heart of our healthcare products, which connect patients to services and assist them in having more control over their own wellbeing. It is therefore, very exciting for Bosch to be a founding partner of the IDH Learning Lab, which will enable new technology to be developed and tested and we look forward to the results it will produce.”
Structural Genomics Consortium and University of Oxford creating cluster of biotechs
The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) at the University of Oxford has recently (since 2011) attracted £21m worth of inward private/ industrial investment from 8 partners for drug discovery in the UK (Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Abbott, Takeda, and two leading global pharmaceutical companies). The last two pharmaceutical companies have joined in October 2012, each contributing £2.6m. Currently the SGC is in conversations with several other private foreign organisations interested in joining the consortium.
Key Fact
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is one of the world’s leading genome centres.
Additionally the SGC is also in discussion with venture capitalists, the Technology Strategy Board, and the Department of Business Innovation and Skills, with plans to create a cluster of local biotechs on the basis of SGC’s extensive portfolio of innovative scientific and technological outputs.
MRC and NIHR Phenome Centre open for collaboration
The MRC-NIHR Phenome Centre, which will analyse thousands of samples of blood, urine and tissue to discover how our genes interact with our environment to cause and affect the course of disease, will open at Imperial College London in 2013. The Centre is a partnership between the Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research, analytical technology companies Bruker and Waters, King’s College London and Imperial College London.
For further information on the UK’s vibrant research base please read the new UK Life Science Prospectus which can be downloaded here.
Contact us
UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) can provide further information in a range of areas such as market opportunities, local skills and expertise, industry clusters, universities, incentives and funding support. Contact the Invest in the UK team by completing an enquiry form here.