Life sciences

The North East of England is a thriving hub for life sciences with cutting-edge research and world-class facilities across the region.

North East England has an established pharmaceutical cluster accounting for £632m of the region’s GVA, with key strengths in research and development, clinical trials and healthy ageing.

Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust frequently tops the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) tables, undertaking the UK’s largest number of clinical trials, recruiting almost 12,500 patients. The region is also widely credited with major breakthroughs in mitochondrial disease, neuromuscular disease, renal disease and cancer.

The region is home to two science and innovation quarters, Newcastle Helix and NETPark which are hotbeds for driving medical and scientific advancements. A hub of collaboration, Newcastle Helix is also home to the UK’s only National Innovation Centre for Ageing and the National Innovation Centre for Data, the largest facility of its kind in Europe, and you can find the National Horizon Centre and the National Healthcare Photonics Centre at NETPark.

Close and collaborative working between industry, academia and the NHS means conferences benefit from access to a diverse ecosystem of organisations including Health Innovation – North East & North Cumbria (HI-NENC) and NIHR Innovation Observatory.

Thanks to our world-class facilities and industry expertise, we’ve attracted conferences such as the International Society for Clinical Biostatistics and the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD).

Key facts:

• The International Centre for Life is the UK’s first biotechnology village, a landmark £90m development which is home to Newcastle University’s Institute for Genetic Medicine.
• Newcastle University was granted the first licence by the fertility regulator to create a baby with three genetic parents, which is a ground-breaking development that will be used to prevent children dying from genetic diseases.
• The National Institute for Health Research Innovation Observatory based at Newcastle University applies big data analytical tools to reveal global trends in health innovation.