Scotland is recognised as one of the largest, most accessible and collaborative life sciences clusters in Europe. With a compact geography, engaged and connected industry leaders and strong support from the Scottish Government, we can quickly respond to your business needs and help you to access global opportunities.  

People are our greatest asset and our 2.8million-strong workforce is internationally recognised as one of the best trained, most reliable and cost-competitive labour forces in the world. 

At the heart of our connected approach is a clear and focused strategy for our life sciences sector, which is on course to achieve an economic contribution of £8bn by 2025. Scotland’s life sciences strategy has four strands which focus on all elements of the enterprise lifecycle: research, develop, manufacture and commercialise.

Employing more than 41,000 people in some 770 organisations across all subsectors, Scotland boasts some 250 innovative medical technologies companies across a wide range of subsectors including: therapeutic devices; imaging; non-imaging diagnostics; in-vitro diagnostics; personal care & assisted living; surgical & clinical equipment. 

Scotland is globally recognised as a pioneer in the development and deployment of telehealth and telecare. With more than 80,000 patients participating in government-funded digital health projects, thanks to the Scottish Government’s commitment to digital healthcare, Scotland offers a wealth of funded opportunities to collaborate with our health service and to develop novel technologies that benefit all.

NHS Scotland can act as a single access point for industry, providing dedicated innovation support for product development and our robust e-health records system provides an invaluable data resource for clinical studies and product approval.

By locating in Scotland, you will join a vibrant community that links academia and industry with cutting-edge technology. Our innovation centres can provide support, expertise and dedicated facilities across a range of research themes such as stratified medicine, digital health, sensors, biotech, sensors and data.