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The innovation nation
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A growing number of life sciences and medical technology companies are moving to Wales, attracted by the high-tech infrastructure, an agile approach to business and healthcare collaborations IN 2016, US-based entrepreneur Chris Wiltshire began his hunt for a new UK home to grow his young drug development company. The 24-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry chose Wales. Why? In addition to the vibrant talent pool there and the financial incentives for his company, Hematherix, Wiltshire was impressed by the Welsh government’s getup-and-go. It set him up with a collaborator at Cardiff University, haematologist Peter Collins. “That impressed me,” says Wiltshire. “It was a bullseye in terms of the professor’s interest and my interest.” Unlike other parts of the UK, the activity and investment isn’t concentrated in just one wealthy area. The growth of the life sciences sector in Wales spans the length and breadth of the country, from harvesting jellyfish collagen in the west to the foundation of cutting-edge infantile prosthetics in the north. Ambionics, a family-run start-up based in Anglesey, has recently gained global attention for developing of a new kind of bionic limb for children that uses hydraulic pressure, supported by Bangor University. A local health board described the technology as having the “potential to revolutionise” infant amputee care. The personal attention is what sets Wales apart, says Penny Owen, the interim executive chair of the Life Sciences Hub
Wales, the Cardiff-based organisation at the heart of the Welsh life sciences sector. “We can make links easily, and be agile in terms of how we pick up on opportunities. We’ve got a very engaged government.” To truly understand how engaged the government is, entrepreneurs need look no further than the Hub itself. Based in the impressive regenerated area overlooking Cardiff Bay, the Hub is a focal point for NHS and industry involvement. The collaborative business space, launched in 2014, offers advice, events, funding and the opportunity to make meaningful connections. For many of its 140 member companies, the Hub has been a crucial partner in their growth and success (see “Wales: Britain’s secret science park”, right). It is part of a wider government strategy, which began in 2010, to promote the life sciences sector in Wales. Today, this sector employs over 11,000 people in more than 365 companies and pumps £2 billion into the Welsh economy every year. The Welsh government established a dedicated Life Sciences Investment Fund worth £100 million in 2013. The Hub’s goal is to increase the contribution of life sciences to the Welsh economy by more than £1 billion by 2022.
Poised to excel
Of course, it can’t do that alone. Luckily, the country boasts a number of world-leading universities to help. Swansea University
Phil Boorman Photography Ltd
The innovation nation opened Wales’s premier purpose-built medical research facility, the Institute of Life Science (ILS), in 2007. So far, the ILS has spun out 50 companies, created 800 jobs and raised about £70 million in venture funds. Cardiff University is also busy. In 2016, it opened the £44 million Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), the largest of its kind in Europe. In 2017, the university will break ground on a £300 million Innovation Campus, featuring a 12,000 square metre Innovation Centre – a start-up hub in the heart of Cardiff. The new centre will complement Cardiff’s MediCentre, a business incubator for biotech and medtech start-ups. “We want to get innovation out of the lab, into the clinic and connected with investment,” says Owen. “We’re going to focus in the coming years on strengthening the industry-to-NHS link.” This is already happening at Swansea University. In 2015, Swansea co-founded a programme called A Regional Collaboration for Health (ARCH) in South West Wales. Involving one million patients, 30,000 healthcare workers and a £2 billion annual spend on healthcare, ARCH is pioneering new approaches to patient care, including the use of digital technology. That work attracted the attention of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which announced in March that it will launch a healthcarefocused Innovation Hub at the university. It’s not just multinational firms that are keen to collaborate with NHS Wales. UK-based
Wales: Britain’s secret science park 11pt header on 14 Sub-head to be 7pt on 8.5 leading
Science Parks Universities Meditech companies Support/Service provider 0
50 Kilometres
London
Bangor University
BANGOR Ambionics
Elidir Health
Proton Partners The Rutherford Cancer Centre
Pembrokeshire Science and Technology Park
Welsh ICE
Jellagen
GE Healthcare Innovation Village
Magstim
Cotton Mouton Diagnostics Cardiff Medicentre
SWANSEA
PEMBROKE Bionema
CARDIFF CARDIFF AIRPORT
Swansea University Institute of Life Science Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre Entrepreneurial Spark
BBI Group Life Sciences Hub Wales Oxford PharmaGenesis
Proton Partners is soon to open three protonbeam cancer centres in England and Wales – the first such cutting-edge treatment centres in the UK. CEO Mike Moran says the decision to establish a first centre in South Wales was down to government investment. “That was key to attracting a company of our potential.” Indeed, businesses big and small are growing rapidly with support from the Welsh government. Medical device manufacturer Magstim, for instance, doubled the size of its Welsh headquarters last year with a £2.7 million government funding package, while diagnostic technology company BBI Group recently built an £8.5 million global headquarters in South Wales with £1.8 million from the government. In 2016, health science communications firm Oxford PharmaGenesis opened an office in Cardiff with government support, while the year before, GE Healthcare launched a government-backed Innovation Village in Cardiff for life sciences start-ups. “The government is thinking about how to build sustainable economies around industries Wales is strong in,” says Owen. Wales’s appeal is not all about investment, however. For many, the quality of life in the country – from its iconic green hills to its low cost of living – makes all the difference. “It’s a great place to raise your family,” says Moran. “Wales is just a lovely place to be.” n More at: www.lifescienceshubwales.com
Wales is brimming with opportunities for life sciences entrepreneurs. There is a wealth of support for start-ups, from GE’s Innovation Village and Entrepreneurial Spark’s Hatchery in Cardiff, to the Innovation Centre for Enterprise in Caerphilly, known as Welsh ICE, which has generated £13.8 million for South Wales since its founding in 2012. Big successes have already emerged. In early 2016, Jellagen, a young company based in Wales’ Pembrokeshire Science and Technology Park, secured £1.53 million in equity investment for its research into harvesting collagen from jellyfish. A 2015 spin-off from Swansea University, Bionema, has been heralded for its development of organic pesticides. And tech company Elidir Health, founded in 2014, is working in North Wales on an app to save nurses time on NHS wards. Academic-turnedentrepreneur Jenna Bowen says Wales is an outstanding place to start a company. She and her colleagues from the universities of Cardiff and Exeter founded Cotton Mouton Diagnostics in 2014 rapid Listed in the to DPSdevelop but missingafrom the map are ‘Welsh ICE’ (further details here test welshice.org , address is Caerphilly, CF83 diagnostic for sepsis. 3GG) After – can it securing be listed under a newfunding classification of initial ‘Support/Service provider’. and a mentorship package from Also include ‘Bangor University’ (further details here the Welsh and UK governments, bangor.ac.uk, address is Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, moved the Life LL57 the 2DG)start-up – can it be listed underinto classification of ‘Universities’. Sciences Hub(further Wales in Cardiff in Also include ‘Ambionics’ details here ambionics.co.uk, address is Anglesey, LL59 5HF) – can it be listed 2015. “ThatNorth wasWales, really valuable underto classification of ‘Medtech us in those early companies’. days. It put Can we rename ‘MediCentre business incubator’ to ‘Cardiff us in the room with the right Medicentre’. people,” says Bowen. Cotton Can we rename ‘PharmaGenesis’ to ‘Oxford PharmaGenesis’ – can Mouton the nearbyprovider’. it be listed underexpanded classification ofto ‘Support/Service GE Innovation Village and‘Hatchery’’ is Can we rename ‘Entrepreneurial Sparks’s to ‘Entrepreneurial be listed under classification of now lessSpark’ than– can 24itmonths away ‘Support/Service provider’. from bringing its first product to Can we re-colour ‘Life Sciences Hub Wales’ to the science park market. “It was a combination of colour/classification. the Innovation Village and the Can we remove the bullet point from the second line of the LifeUniversity Sciences Hubofthat reallylisting got please. ‘Swansea Institute Life Science’ us off the ground,” she says.
A growing number of life sciences and medical technology companies are moving to Wales, attracted by the high-tech infrastructure, an agile approach to business and healthcare collaborations IN 2016, US-based entrepreneur Chris Wiltshire began his hunt for a new UK home to grow his young drug development company. The 24-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry chose Wales. Why? In addition to the vibrant talent pool there and the financial incentives for his company, Hematherix, Wiltshire was impressed by the Welsh government’s getup-and-go. It set him up with a collaborator at Cardiff University, haematologist Peter Collins. “That impressed me,” says Wiltshire. “It was a bullseye in terms of the professor’s interest and my interest.” Unlike other parts of the UK, the activity and investment isn’t concentrated in just one wealthy area. The growth of the life sciences sector in Wales spans the length and breadth of the country, from harvesting jellyfish collagen in the west to the foundation of cutting-edge infantile prosthetics in the north. Ambionics, a family-run start-up based in Anglesey, has recently gained global attention for developing of a new kind of bionic limb for children that uses hydraulic pressure, supported by Bangor University. A local health board described the technology as having the “potential to revolutionise” infant amputee care. The personal attention is what sets Wales apart, says Penny Owen, the interim executive chair of the Life Sciences Hub
Wales, the Cardiff-based organisation at the heart of the Welsh life sciences sector. “We can make links easily, and be agile in terms of how we pick up on opportunities. We’ve got a very engaged government.” To truly understand how engaged the government is, entrepreneurs need look no further than the Hub itself. Based in the impressive regenerated area overlooking Cardiff Bay, the Hub is a focal point for NHS and industry involvement. The collaborative business space, launched in 2014, offers advice, events, funding and the opportunity to make meaningful connections. For many of its 140 member companies, the Hub has been a crucial partner in their growth and success (see “Wales: Britain’s secret science park”, right). It is part of a wider government strategy, which began in 2010, to promote the life sciences sector in Wales. Today, this sector employs over 11,000 people in more than 365 companies and pumps £2 billion into the Welsh economy every year. The Welsh government established a dedicated Life Sciences Investment Fund worth £100 million in 2013. The Hub’s goal is to increase the contribution of life sciences to the Welsh economy by more than £1 billion by 2022.
Poised to excel
Of course, it can’t do that alone. Luckily, the country boasts a number of world-leading universities to help. Swansea University
Phil Boorman Photography Ltd
The innovation nation opened Wales’s premier purpose-built medical research facility, the Institute of Life Science (ILS), in 2007. So far, the ILS has spun out 50 companies, created 800 jobs and raised about £70 million in venture funds. Cardiff University is also busy. In 2016, it opened the £44 million Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), the largest of its kind in Europe. In 2017, the university will break ground on a £300 million Innovation Campus, featuring a 12,000 square metre Innovation Centre – a start-up hub in the heart of Cardiff. The new centre will complement Cardiff’s MediCentre, a business incubator for biotech and medtech start-ups. “We want to get innovation out of the lab, into the clinic and connected with investment,” says Owen. “We’re going to focus in the coming years on strengthening the industry-to-NHS link.” This is already happening at Swansea University. In 2015, Swansea co-founded a programme called A Regional Collaboration for Health (ARCH) in South West Wales. Involving one million patients, 30,000 healthcare workers and a £2 billion annual spend on healthcare, ARCH is pioneering new approaches to patient care, including the use of digital technology. That work attracted the attention of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which announced in March that it will launch a healthcarefocused Innovation Hub at the university. It’s not just multinational firms that are keen to collaborate with NHS Wales. UK-based
Wales: Britain’s secret science park 11pt header on 14 Sub-head to be 7pt on 8.5 leading
Science Parks Universities Meditech companies Support/Service provider 0
50 Kilometres
London
Bangor University
BANGOR Ambionics
Elidir Health
Proton Partners The Rutherford Cancer Centre
Pembrokeshire Science and Technology Park
Welsh ICE
Jellagen
GE Healthcare Innovation Village
Magstim
Cotton Mouton Diagnostics Cardiff Medicentre
SWANSEA
PEMBROKE Bionema
CARDIFF CARDIFF AIRPORT
Swansea University Institute of Life Science Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre Entrepreneurial Spark
BBI Group Life Sciences Hub Wales Oxford PharmaGenesis
Proton Partners is soon to open three protonbeam cancer centres in England and Wales – the first such cutting-edge treatment centres in the UK. CEO Mike Moran says the decision to establish a first centre in South Wales was down to government investment. “That was key to attracting a company of our potential.” Indeed, businesses big and small are growing rapidly with support from the Welsh government. Medical device manufacturer Magstim, for instance, doubled the size of its Welsh headquarters last year with a £2.7 million government funding package, while diagnostic technology company BBI Group recently built an £8.5 million global headquarters in South Wales with £1.8 million from the government. In 2016, health science communications firm Oxford PharmaGenesis opened an office in Cardiff with government support, while the year before, GE Healthcare launched a government-backed Innovation Village in Cardiff for life sciences start-ups. “The government is thinking about how to build sustainable economies around industries Wales is strong in,” says Owen. Wales’s appeal is not all about investment, however. For many, the quality of life in the country – from its iconic green hills to its low cost of living – makes all the difference. “It’s a great place to raise your family,” says Moran. “Wales is just a lovely place to be.” n More at: www.lifescienceshubwales.com
Wales is brimming with opportunities for life sciences entrepreneurs. There is a wealth of support for start-ups, from GE’s Innovation Village and Entrepreneurial Spark’s Hatchery in Cardiff, to the Innovation Centre for Enterprise in Caerphilly, known as Welsh ICE, which has generated £13.8 million for South Wales since its founding in 2012. Big successes have already emerged. In early 2016, Jellagen, a young company based in Wales’ Pembrokeshire Science and Technology Park, secured £1.53 million in equity investment for its research into harvesting collagen from jellyfish. A 2015 spin-off from Swansea University, Bionema, has been heralded for its development of organic pesticides. And tech company Elidir Health, founded in 2014, is working in North Wales on an app to save nurses time on NHS wards. Academic-turnedentrepreneur Jenna Bowen says Wales is an outstanding place to start a company. She and her colleagues from the universities of Cardiff and Exeter founded Cotton Mouton Diagnostics in 2014 rapid Listed in the to DPSdevelop but missingafrom the map are ‘Welsh ICE’ (further details here test welshice.org , address is Caerphilly, CF83 diagnostic for sepsis. 3GG) After – can it securing be listed under a newfunding classification of initial ‘Support/Service provider’. and a mentorship package from Also include ‘Bangor University’ (further details here the Welsh and UK governments, bangor.ac.uk, address is Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, moved the Life LL57 the 2DG)start-up – can it be listed underinto classification of ‘Universities’. Sciences Hub(further Wales in Cardiff in Also include ‘Ambionics’ details here ambionics.co.uk, address is Anglesey, LL59 5HF) – can it be listed 2015. “ThatNorth wasWales, really valuable underto classification of ‘Medtech us in those early companies’. days. It put Can we rename ‘MediCentre business incubator’ to ‘Cardiff us in the room with the right Medicentre’. people,” says Bowen. Cotton Can we rename ‘PharmaGenesis’ to ‘Oxford PharmaGenesis’ – can Mouton the nearbyprovider’. it be listed underexpanded classification ofto ‘Support/Service GE Innovation Village and‘Hatchery’’ is Can we rename ‘Entrepreneurial Sparks’s to ‘Entrepreneurial be listed under classification of now lessSpark’ than– can 24itmonths away ‘Support/Service provider’. from bringing its first product to Can we re-colour ‘Life Sciences Hub Wales’ to the science park market. “It was a combination of colour/classification. the Innovation Village and the Can we remove the bullet point from the second line of the LifeUniversity Sciences Hubofthat reallylisting got please. ‘Swansea Institute Life Science’ us off the ground,” she says.