ABERDEEN has been highlighted in a new study as “one to watch” in a fast-growing Scottish life sciences industry.
Global property giant Savills analysed data gathered by US firm Pitchbook, which specialises in research and technology for private capital markets, to find out more about investment patterns for life sciences throughout the UK.
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The strengthening of Scotland’s life science sector is “clear to see”, with more than £600 million raised for companies headquartered north of the border during the past three years, Savills said.
While Edinburgh and Glasgow account for 50% of the total number of capital-raising deals recorded in Scotland since 2018, Aberdeen is “one to watch” as an emerging life science cluster, it added.
Nearly £140m of venture capital funding has been raised for life sciences firms in Scotland this year, according to Savills.
Aberdeen’s share of investment in the sector north of the border during 2020 is up by 17% on the combined total for the city in 2018 and 2019.
Savills said the latest Aberdeen data was based on fewer deals than Glasgow or Edinburgh, but the growth “shows larger capital raising transactions can happen in the city”.
One of the key venture capital raising deals highlighted in 2020 was Aberdeen-headquartered Nod-Thera, operator of a clinical-stage biotechnology company intended to develop medicines to treat diseases driven by chronic inflammation, raising c.£44 million in June a deal led by Novo Holdings.
Steve Lang, research director at Savills, said: “With the global hunt for a cure to end the Covid-19 health pandemic, there has been a significant increase in the level of interest from all corners of the market to understand the future role of the life science sector. From a real estate perspective, in the UK it is interesting to see where there is growth.
“The UK is very good at discovery within a life science context. R&D capabilities have grown significantly and the presence of global companies in the country is noteworthy. While the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford will see the South East and East of England remain the core locations outside of London for a very long time, there are pockets of growth elsewhere in the UK that should not be ignored, and we recognise Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen as three such cities.”
