New government funding will help make the boldest ideas in UK life sciences a reality.
- New government funding will help make the boldest ideas in UK life sciences a reality - from putting robots to work in factories making medicines, to turning spent nuclear fuel into the next generation of cancer therapies
- As a key pillar of the Industrial Strategy, unleashing our £100 billion life sciences sector is key to the government's plans for economic growth, better health and national renewal
- UK's world leading status as life sciences hub boosted by £800 million Barts Life Sciences Cluster plans and British Business Bank commitment to new nine-figure Venture Capital (VC) fund
Breakthrough research on how AI and robots could make medicines factories work better and how used fuel from nuclear power could be recycled into cancer radiotherapies are all in line for a boost thanks to more than £74 million in government and industry backing for the UK's life sciences innovators.
The UK's life sciences sector is a force for good and for growth, generating turnover of £150 billion annually. As the funding being announced today underlines, Britain's life sciences innovators are transforming what's possible in healthcare: from unlocking new ways of tackling the scourge of antibiotic-resistant infections, which is directly responsible for over a million deaths a year, through to finding ways to recycle anaesthetic gas, which could save the NHS around £5 million pounds a year and reduce the impact on the environment.
Today (Tuesday 18 November) the government is awarding more than £54 million across 8 innovative R&D projects through the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme - a joint effort between government and industry that is funded through the VPAG Investment Programme - and further boosted by more than £20 million in additional backing from industry.
This will support work to make medicines production more environmentally friendly and efficient - looking at how anaesthetic gas could be recycled and reused, how spent fuel from Britain's nuclear power stations could be converted into the next generation of cancer therapies, as well as efforts to make medicines production less wasteful by putting AI and robotics to work in British factories. This is being delivered by Innovate UK.
Meanwhile, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is being awarded almost £1 million from the Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund for work to address regulatory challenges around 'engineered bacteriophage products'. Bacteriophages are a type of virus that destroy bacteria. Specially-designed bacteriophages could provide an answer to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The work of the MHRA and its partners across 5 regulatory agencies, together with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), will make sure regulation in this important field is fit for purpose, and not a barrier to safe innovation.
Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said:
The life sciences sector is a core part of our Industrial Strategy for good reason: it turns over £150 billion a year, supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, and is a magnet for investment. Its success will be critical to the economic growth we need, to deliver this government's mission of national renewal.
Life sciences are also fundamental to our health and wellbeing. It is only thanks to the brilliance of doctors and scientists that so many diseases of the past can now be treated, prevented and cured. We are backing Britain's life sciences innovators to keep pushing forward, to find new and better ways to improve and save lives.
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said:
We're determined to make the UK a life sciences superpower. That's why its one of our 8 priority sectors in our modern Industrial Strategy - so we can build on our strengths and stay at the forefront of innovation.
Britain's life sciences sector is one of our greatest national assets, driving breakthroughs that save lives, create high-skilled jobs, and attract world-class investment. Today's funding shows our commitment to backing the boldest ideas helping deliver the economic growth and national renewal this government is focused on.
Health and Innovation Minister Dr Zubir Ahmed said:
From innovative cancer treatments to arming our clinicians in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, this government is backing Britain as a life sciences and medical technology powerhouse.
The NHS has been a pioneer since its creation, and it falls to our generation to continue this by harnessing technological and scientific advances.
I am confident that if we combine the ingenuity of our leading scientists with the might of our NHS, we can deliver a health service which is once again there for its patients and the envy of the world.
The package of support being announced today comes as ministers host leaders from across the life sciences sector, the investor community, and the UK health system at Downing Street, to mark London Life Sciences Week - when investors, researchers, policymakers and businesspeople from across the sector converge on the capital.
The opening of this week has also seen wider efforts announced to drive investment into UK life sciences, which demonstrate the sector's compelling appeal as a magnet for capital. The British Business Bank has announced a €30 million commitment to venture capital firm Sofinnova's new €637 million, pan-European VC fund, Sofinnova Capital XI. This new fund will back a new generation of pioneering biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies in the UK and beyond. This builds on the Bank's strong track record in this area - having made commitments of £435 million to 13 life science funds.
While Barts Health NHS Trust have announced plans to drive life sciences investment into the capital, by partnering with private investors BGO, H.I.G. Capital and Lateral, and supported by academic partners, to launch the Barts Life Sciences Cluster, in Whitechapel, which is expected to draw in more than £800 million in investment.
Life sciences businesses are a key economic driver for the UK, as shown by recently-published figures showing that London-based firms pulled in £1.6 billion in venture capital investment so far in 2025 - more than triple the amount raised by Paris, and cementing the UK as Europe's natural home for life sciences investment.
The UK life sciences sector supports over 300,000 jobs up and down the country, and is foundational to the UK's health and wellbeing. It has been earmarked in the Industrial Strategy, as one of the 8 key sectors that will drive growth over the coming decade. We are fostering an environment where innovation thrives and businesses flourish.
Recent successes for the sector include:
- BioNTech's £1 billion
- 10-year investment, Wellcome jointly backing our £600 million Health Data Research Service
- US developer Prologis' £3 billion investment into the Cambridge Biomedical Campus
- GSK investing £50 million in the GSK-Oxford Cancer Immuno-Prevention Programme.
While US biotech firm Moderna recently opened a state-of-the-art new Innovation and Technology Centre in Oxfordshire, being delivered as part of a £1 billion programme of investment in the UK.
Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA), Professor Dame Angela McLean, said:
By championing rigorous research and collaboration, we can unlock scientific innovation that improves patient care and drives economic growth. This investment will support UK scientists and engineers to deliver further breakthroughs in cutting-edge fields, such as engineering biology, to address society's most pressing health challenges.
Lawrence Tallon, MHRA Chief Executive, said:
Antibiotic resistance threatens to turn back the clock back on modern medicine and our ability to treat everyday infections, as well as threatening food production and overall biosecurity.
Innovative solutions, such as engineered bacteriophages, offer great promise in addressing this looming crisis. To realise their full potential, we must ensure these technologies are developed safely and responsibly, within a clear regulatory framework.
Working hand in hand with our key partners, we aim to get safe and effective phage products to patients, farmers and food producers quickly, bridging regulatory gaps, and providing clarity for innovators - all while maintaining the highest standards of safety and public confidence.
Dr Stella Peace, Managing Director and Executive Director for Healthy Living and Agriculture Domain at Innovate UK, said:
Through Innovate UK's Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme, these projects have the potential to transform how medicines are produced in the UK. This investment in sustainable innovation supports the government's Modern Industrial Strategy, accelerates progress towards net zero, strengthens the resilience of the life sciences sector, and drives long-term economic growth.
Joe Edwards, ABPI Director, UK Competitiveness and Devolved Nations, said:
The pharmaceutical industry's investment into this programme shows our commitment to modern and sustainable manufacturing practices. We are backing the innovative ideas needed to build a resilient manufacturing base for the UK and improve how medicines are made.
Professor Mark Sutton, Scientific Leader for Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Biotechnology at UKHSA said:
We urgently need to find new, innovative ways to treat infections. Engineered bacteriophages have the potential to revolutionise how we combat bacteria that can resist antibiotics. This investment marks a step forward in increasing access to this game-changing technology.
We look forward to exploring how engineered phages can work in practice, helping get them from the laboratory into the hands of those who need them. UKHSA has recently established a national bacteriophage collection, putting us in a unique position to support this work.
Notes
The Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme is funded as part of the wider VPAG Investment Programme agreed as part of the 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG). The VPAG Investment Programme is a joint government-industry programme to strengthen the UK's global competitiveness in health and life sciences and drive innovation-led growth. Enabled by circa £400 million of funding from scheme members, it is targeting investment across the UK, with initiatives in 3 focus areas:
- clinical trials
- health technology assessment
- manufacturing
Breakdown of the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme awards
Beyond single-use plastics: processing innovation driving sustainable pharmaceutical packaging (SusPack)
£8 million grant plus further £1.9 million from industry, led by the National Physical Laboratory. Advancing innovative, circular and sustainable solutions to meet low-carbon recycling and waste-reduction targets in primary and secondary pharmaceutical packaging.
Biocat Copilot - Digital Biocatalysis for Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing
£4 million grant plus further £1 million from industry, led by DISYN BIOTEC LTD. Delivering an integrated digital AI ecosystem that transforms biocatalysis from a niche specialty into a readily accessible, predictable, and rapidly implementable strategy for sustainable API manufacturing.
Environmental Peptide Production
£6.4 million plus further £1.3 million from industry, led by Origin Peptides Limited. Create a commercially ready peptide manufacturing system with novel peptide synthesis technology, to make life-saving medicines with the smallest environmental footprint and at the lowest cost.
EcoCAR
Sustainable CAR T Cell Manufacture; £4.9 million plus further £2.1 million from industry, led by Royal Free Hospital. Developing a more sustainable CAR-T cell manufacturing process that reduces waste through manufacture in a single low-volume vessel resulting in a "one-pot" CAR-T manufacturing solution.
InSPIREmed - Integrated Spectroscopy and Photonics for Increased Productivity and Resource Efficiency in Medicines Manufacture
£8.1 million plus further £1.9 million from industry, led by Fraunhofer UK Research Limited. Delivering and implementing advances in photonic sensing across multiple stages of medicines manufacturing to reduce waste and energy usage while increasing process yields.
Project Alpha 10.6 (Harvesting the UK's Radionuclide Assets for Medical Applications)
£9.9 million, co-led by United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory Ltd and Medicines Discovery Catapult. Exploring how to make valuable medical treatments sustainably from legacy nuclear material, unlocking the UK's potential to develop promising new cancer therapies for patients.
Circularity and Sustainability in Volatile Anaesthetics
£2.9 million plus further £0.6 million from industry, led by Sagetech Medical Equipment. Optimising and scaling up the process of capture, recovery, and remanufacture of volatile anaesthetics, responsible for approximately 4M tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents each year.
A Sustainable Future Factory
£9.9 million plus further £3.9 million from industry, led by AstraZeneca UK Limited. Integrating robotics, automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and data-driven approaches into the next generation of medicines manufacturing technologies, to create sustainable, future-ready factories.
DSIT
