Research funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) has led to spinout companies with an economic value greater than £6.1 billion and the creation of more than 3,800 jobs, according to a new report from Ipsos UK.

The study, Development and Growth of Spinouts from MRC Research, was commissioned to establish an overview of the growth of spinouts linked to intellectual property developed with MRC funding, and collected data from hundreds of new companies founded between 2008 and 2023. 

According to Ipsos’ analysis, spinouts from the MRC – which is the medical research arm of the publicly funded body UK Research and Innovation – have attracted £10.2 billion of external investment. 

The report analysed Pitchbook data for 206 of these spinouts, which collectively secured £5.7 billion in equity investment, accounting for around 34% of the total capital raised by spinouts in the wider UK pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector during the period.

Twenty-two companies each attracted more than £50 million in investment, and more than half (54%) established some level of external capital investment.

Most spinouts were seeking to develop new therapeutics, and the firms which attracted the highest levels of investment were all active in this space. This included companies seeking to develop and commercialise gene and cell therapies, as well as other types of novel treatments, such as peptide-based therapeutics.

However, the report notes that this high-risk process requires significant volumes of capital to bring a product to market, with most companies not generating revenues before being acquired by a larger pharmaceutical firm. 

There were also a number of revenue-generating spinouts that successfully commercialised diagnostic services and products, including Perspectum, a developer of digital healthcare technologies, and NorthWest eHealth, which provides services to support the design and delivery of clinical trials.

The report indicates that spinouts coming from the MRC’s translationally targeted research funding have been highly successful, leveraging £5.30 of external investment from every £1 invested.

According to Ipsos, these spinouts raised around £3.1 billion of external equity investment between 2008 and 2023, relative to £577 million in research funding committed, attracting more external funding in total, and on average raising greater levels of funding, than those associated with all other MRC-funded research.

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“MRC-funded research has led to the creation of a significant number of impactful spin-out companies,” said Professor Patrick Chinnery, executive chair of the MRC.

“Our funding has given rise to innovative medical treatments and technologies that underpin valuable intellectual property and new companies, collectively worth billions of pounds, targeted on improving the lives of people with diseases.

“MRC’s ongoing strategic support for translational research is proving highly successful. We are progressing research from bench to bedside, from discovery to prosperity – supporting a healthier economy, as well as a healthier population.”