The Scottish Government has launched a refreshed Life Sciences Strategy for Scotland, aiming to use targeted investment and policy levers to transform the sector into a £25 billion powerhouse within the next decade.

The ten-year strategy will chart a path for converting Scotland’s strengths in everything from pharmaceuticals and medical devices to cutting-edge genetics and biochemistry into sustained economic growth and transformative healthcare treatments.

The updated strategy aims to build on Scotland’s strong history of R&D in areas like pharmaceuticals, health technologies and agritech by harnessing data, digital tools, and AI to accelerate discovery and drive breakthroughs.

It will also look to maintain Scotland’s position as one of the leading hubs for life sciences in Europe by investing in talent pipelines and nurturing skills across the country’s academic institutions.  

“In the past five years, the life sciences sector has shaped our response to a global pandemic, responded to new opportunities in personalised medicine, health technology and medical devices, and played its part in meeting the Scottish Government’s net zero commitments,” said Richard Lochhead, business minister.

“Scotland is rich in talent and already the destination of choice for many global businesses, investors, researchers and innovative health and care professionals.

“Our Strategy will build on these strengths and outline actions to harness the power of the triple helix – industry, academia and the public sector – to collaborate and grow life sciences, using new technologies such as artificial intelligence.”

Already contributing around £10.5 billion in turnover to Scotland’s economy, including more than £4 billion in international exports, the life sciences sector supports more than 46,000 jobs across more than 700 organisations, from global pharma companies to medtech startups.

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That still puts Scotland behind world leaders like Scandinavia’s Medicon Valley, which is home to more than 1,500 life science firms employing over 85,000 people, as well as the Golden Triangle of London, Oxford, and Cambridge, which, as of 2023, accounted for 48% of all people directly employed by the UK life sciences sector.  

In recent years, Scotland has ramped up investment by partnering with enterprises and academia to pour tens of millions into developing cutting-edge facilities to strengthen its domestic life sciences sector.

That has included CPI’s £56 million Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, £38 million in funding for Glasgow Uni to create the Precision Medicine Living Lab, the launch of Aberdeen’s £40 million BioHub in 2023, and more than £25 million for the development of the Tay Cities Biomedical Cluster.

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