CPL LIFE SCIENCES
Life sciences staffing
‘Life Sci for Growth’ package, announced in May 2023, will bolster confidence in the UK Life sciences market. Funding including £121 million to improve commercial clinical trials, up to £48 million of new money for scientific innovation, £154 million to increase capacity of the UK’s biological data bank, and up to £250 million to incentivise pension schemes to invest in the UK’s most promising science and tech firms, will all contribute to reigniting the UK life sciences staffing market in 2024. Increased Clinical Trials Following the slowdown of clinical trial approval during the pandemic period, we expect to see initiatives by the UK government to fast track trial approval manifest into an increase in hiring during 2024. Since summer 2023, there has been a four-fold increase in the number of trials approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MRHA) in the UK. As a result, we predict a surge in demand from CROs looking for talent to support growing business demands. The Rise of the Golden Triangle The rise of a world-class life sciences cluster in the Golden Triangle has an important contribution to make in meeting national healthcare challenges, including the delivery of innovative personalised health. Clusters foster a more collaborative way of working between international researchers, scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and clinicians, interconnecting their wide range of expertise, knowledge, and specialist skills.
If we consider Cambridge alone, were this cluster to grow unimpeded, it could generate an additional £1 billion per annum to the UK economy and an additional 6,000 jobs by 2032. Continued growth in these clusters is critical to help the UK life sciences sector compete with established clusters in the United States— in particular, Boston and San Francisco—as well as emerging clusters in
HORIZON SCANNING WHAT’S ON THE RADAR IN 2024
Europe and Asia. Sustainability
Sustainability has moved on from its status as a trend and is now a core pillar of corporate strategy for companies across the globe. Throughout 2024, we expect to see sustainability remaining as hot agenda item for life science businesses—especially across Europe. As the life sciences landscape continues to evolve, embedding sustainable practices in not just seen as good environmental stewardship but a critical component of business resilience and competitive advantage.
As organisational leaders continue to grapple with the uncertain economic outlook, geopolitical uncertainty and the ongoing skills gap faced by the industry, there are signs that the tide is beginning to turn. Investment We are seeing renewed energy and investment optimism in the market, with interest rates in the UK starting to fall, suggesting we could see a rise in venture capital and private equity funding in in 2024. Several UK life sciences companies have continued to raise significant funding carried forward from 2022. Oxford Nanopore Technologies, the DNA sequencing business raised more than £1Bn with a recent £70m investment from French diagnostics firm BioMérieux. Along side venture capital investment, the UK government's commitment to a multi-faceted
Personalised Medicines and Therapeutic Focus
In 2022, over 2,000 clinical trials were conducted that featured Advanced Therapy Medical Products (ATMPs)—a 13% increase year on year. Demand for these types of products continues to grow, with Northern Ireland boasting a strong cluster of companies focused on areas including biomarker identification, digital biomarker development, and assay validation.
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