invest north east england

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Overview

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Areas of Expertise

• Pharmaceuticals

  Global pharmaceutical producers and smaller manufacturers, alongside specialist suppliers, form a major cluster in the North East, producing a third of all drugs made in the UK.

  The area is poised to capitalise strongly on the shift in the industry towards pharmaceuticals made using advanced biotechnology.

  This move has been aided by the opening of the Biopharmaceutical Bioprocessing Technology Centre at Newcastle University, which provides an umbrella for biologists, chemists and engineers conducting ground-breaking research and developing new products and processes.

  GlaxoSmithKline, the world’s second largest pharmaceutical maker, employs over 1,100 people at its 60-acre complex at Barnard Castle, County Durham, from where it supplies more than 40 products to 100 markets, including the US.

  Other large international pharmaceutical companies in the North East include Sanofi-Aventis in Newcastle and Merck Sharp & Dohme, in Cramlington, Northumberland. Tees Valley is host to the world-leading biologics manufacturing business of Avecia Life Sciences, recently bought by Merck’s parent group in the US.

  Innovative firms with a presence in the North East include Millipore UK in Consett, County Durham, and Cambridge Research Biochemicals in Billingham, Tees Valley.

  SSL International has two purpose-built R&D centres at Peterlee, County Durham, while NPIL Pharmaceuticals UK in Morpeth, Northumberland, specialises in producing advanced drug ingredients.

  Rapidly growing pharmaceuticals maker The Specials Laboratory in Prudhoe, Northumberland, has state-of-the-art facilities for preparing drugs, developed by other companies and research units, for clinic trials in hospitals.

• Stem Cells Research

  Some of the most advanced stem cell research in the world is being conducted in North East England.

  Alongside this, an exciting range of commercial opportunities is emerging in the field of regenerative medicine and associated technological developments. This activity has its focus at the Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences (Cels).

  Business incubator units and a variety of support services and networking facilities are available through Cels for businesses and specialists involved in stem cell and genetic R&D.

  Investments in the manufacture of cell therapy products have attracted one of Korea’s leading biotechnology companies, RNL Bio, to the North East. The firm has established its European division at Newcastle University.

  At Durham University a spin-out biotechnology company, Reinnervate, has been created to specialise in the development of technologies to facilitate cell growth.

  Another company, NewGene, has been set up through a partnership between the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University. It is based at the International Centre for Life in Newcastle and offers genetic testing services.

  The North East Stem Cell Institute is providing a joined-up approach to R&D and commercialisation through collaboration between businesses, the universities and the National Health Service.

• Drug Discovery and Biomarkers

  There is a huge range of R&D taking place within the North East into drug development and the creation of diagnostic systems and products for the healthcare market.

  To facilitate the economic potential of work involving more than 1,200 researchers in the area’s universities, businesses, the NHS and research institutions, an important network, BioNEt, is managed by the Cels as part of its larger HealthConnect network.

  While large pharmaceutical companies are engaged in R&D, there are innovative newer companies in the North East also involved in drug discovery.

  One of those experiencing strong growth is e-Therapeutics, based in Newcastle. Among its projects are potential treatments for dementia, age-related sight degeneration and prostate cancer, in partnership with other companies.

  Within the growing range of businesses in the North East working at the leading edge of drug development and the use of biological markers for diagnostic purposes are:

  • BioTransformations, a spin-out from Newcastle University, created to commercialise the safe and efficient use of monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of cancers.
  • Genesis Genomics, a spin-out from a Canadian company, which has located to Newcastle where it has been developing new treatments for skin cancer.
  • Immunodiagnostics Systems, a high-growth firm based in Boldon, Tyne and Wear, which has developed diagnostic kits used in the detection and treatment of bone disorders and other diseases.
  • Nonlinear Dynamics, in Newcastle, which has pioneered software systems that analyse protein structures in cells for the detection of diseases.

• Ageing and Assistive Technology

  North East England is focused on ageing and health (including Assistive Technology), stem cells and regenerative medicine, health Informatics, medical devices and diagnostics.

  The Institute for Ageing and Health at Newcastle University already the largest in Europe, will be built upon to develop new research capacity and will address the issues of an ageing population, particularly the development of assistive technologies.  It has the largest interdisciplinary research group in the field of ageing and age-related illnesses.

  A Medtec cluster of companies in the North East provide medical devices and services to hospitals and other customers throughout the UK and worldwide.

  Rocket Medical, for example, designs and makes over 1,900 products at its factory in Washington, Tyne and Wear. These are employed in a wide range of clinical areas, such as chest drainage systems used after surgery and foetal blood sampling kits for maternity wards.

  Peacocks Medical Group in Newcastle has built a national reputation for its design and manufacture of devices that support or correct musculoskeletal deformities or other forms of physical disability.

  Bison Bede, in Consett, County Durham, specialises in the design and manufacture of innovative types of chair lifts and bath lifts. It has provided lifting aids to more than 180,000 people worldwide.

  In a similar product area Aquajoy Bathlifts, also in Consett, has become a UK and European market leader, winning awards for its export achievements.

  And Tynetec, based in Blyth, Northumberland, specialises in the design and manufacture of alarm systems as well as telecare equipment, for monitoring disabled or physically vulnerable people, and telehealth machines for uses such as blood pressure checks.

  An important source of new products is the Regional Medical Physics Department in the North East. This is the largest of its kind in the UK, and many of the devices and inventions created by its staff of around 300 are made available to companies for commercial development.

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Key Facts & Figures

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Supporting Organisations

Supporting Organisations