Can Scotland achieve its life science potential?

Scotland has much to offer the global life science sector. So why are we hearing that it’s not reaching its potential?

A report in the The Scotsman asks whether Scotland has been underselling itself when it comes to the life science sector.

Industry leaders feel that Scotland is ‘missing a trick in not selling itself abroad’, writes David Lee. Scotland could a global player abroad and this says Lee, means three things: Making Scotland a go-to location for global life science companies; creating an international mindset and using networks to drive business development and create international SMEs.

Life Sciences in Scotland says the country is one of the largest life science clusters in Europe, employing over 37,000 people in around 700 companies – these business contribute over £2.4 billion turnover to the Scottish economy.

Earlier this year the Life Science Scotland Industry Leadership Group launched a new strategy to help the sector reach £8 billion by 2025.

Dave Tudor,  industry chairman of Life Sciences Scotland, told the BBC: "This is an exciting time for life sciences businesses in Scotland. I am delighted with the shape of our refreshed strategy and the strategic themes that have been identified.

"We now need focus and alignment from across the sector as we create the working groups that will plan and coordinate the delivery of this strategy. I look forward to working with everyone to ensure success in the future."

The Scottish Life Sciences Association (SLA) represents 130 companies. Its helps attract investment and engage with the NHS and government to grow the sector in the country.

Speaking to The Scotsman, Scott Johnstone, chief executive of SLA, said Scotland does have some smaller exciting global players: “If you have the desire and the savvy, you can do it from Scotland.”

Professor Pete Downes, principal of Dundee University feels the issue might be bigger.

“There is not one centre in Scotland big enough to be truly world-class, compared to California or Boston. It’s not just university research, but all the components of a functioning innovation ecosystem for life sciences. You need a dozen universities in that space and huge investment for business and industry. We might have to think of ourselves not just as a Scottish cluster, but a UK cluster,” he said.

The UK has a leading position in the life science sector. Government figures say that it represents 0.9% of the global population but produces 15.2% of the world’s most highly-cited articles. Research in this sector is twice as great as the US and nearly three times as great as Germany. Adding Scottish expertise into this mix could boost opportunities. When we read about UK life sciences, invariably it is the London-Oxford-Cambridge triangle that is singled out. The North West of England and Wales are just two UK regions that boast strong life science knowledge so part of the problem maybe that Scotland is being overlooked due to a particular region having historical significance?

So, what does Scotland need in order to become a world player? Russell Jackson asked this question in The Scotsman. Ken Sutherland, president, Toshiba Medical Visualization Systems, said: “We see substantial opportunities in the new Life Sciences Strategy for Scotland because we want to grow our business here and deliver more innovation to the global healthcare market through our parent company in Japan.

“We see Scotland gaining credibility as a preferred location for life sciences companies and academic researchers and this increased momentum for the sector in Scotland will help us to attract and retain the super-talented people we need to drive our business forward. The focus on life sciences and healthcare innovation from both Scottish and UK governments and the willingness of NHS Scotland to engage with industry will also help us to bring more global R&D to Scotland and the development of new SMEs and scale-ups will give us new opportunities for collaboration and access to innovation.”

Pawel de Sternberg Stojalowski, managing director, Aseptium, which develops new products for medical device decontamination, told Jackson: “Here, as in most life sciences, new solutions are found based on scientific research and cross-industry collaboration. This happens because most complex problems affect various disciplines and require different disciplines of science and engineering to work together. It is this ease of access to wide expertise that makes Scotland special. You create environments for testing ideas. This was the main reason for bringing Aseptium to Inverness: we met people keen to share resources, knowledge and open doors that made development of our technologies quicker. All we need to do is to work closer together. “