Meet Five Life Science Companies in Scotland Pioneering the Future of Health

Home to one of Europe’s largest life science clusters, Scotland has a rich history in science innovation and is actively paving the way forward for the future’s scientific pioneers. 

By 2025, life science companies in Scotland are set to increase sector turnover to £8 billion. This development is being accelerated by the latest Life Sciences Strategy for Scotland 2025 Vision, which aims to make Scotland the location of choice for life science organisations, and scientists across the globe. 

Read on to discover how Scotland’s life science strategy is activating more opportunities for scientists and businesses. We uncover how five life science companies are bringing their scientific endeavours to fruition across the country today.

This article will explore:

• What Scotland’s Life Science Strategy is
• Five innovative life science companies in Scotland
• How to accelerate your scientific career in Scotland

What is Scotland’s Life Science Strategy?

Initially published in 2017, the vision behind Scotland’s Life Science Strategy is to bring Scotland to the forefront of the wider life science community, culminating in an increase in the industry’s contribution to the Scottish Economy to £8 billion by 2025. 

The strategy is built around advancing four key themes:

• Innovation and Commercialisation
• Sustainable Production
• Internationalisation
• Business Environment

So far, established partnerships across academia, health, and the Scottish Government they are on track to make the goal of £8 billion in economic contributions. The success so far is reported by Life Sciences Scotland to be due to “a focus on and commitment to all elements critical to the enterprise lifecycle: research, develop, manufacture and commercialise.”

Five innovative life science companies in Scotland

Meet five innovative life science companies making the most of Scotland’s advanced life science landscape to pioneer new treatments, diagnostics, and medical devices.

1. EnteroBiotix 

EnteroBiotix are a leading microbiome therapeutics company with an ambitious vision to transform the care of patients suffering from unmet clinical needs through innovative microbiome-modulating therapeutics. The organisation is based at Aberdeen’s Foresterhill Health Campus as well as Glasgow’s Strathclyde Business Park.

With a leadership team well versed in pharmaceutical development pathways, the organisation is united by their technical understanding and goal to harness the potential of the microbiome to change care standards and power better clinical results.

Following a recent financing series seeing the organisation raise $21.5 million in funding, the organisation is set to rapidly advance and establish itself even further within the life science space. 

2. Symbiosis 

In 2011, Symbiosis established their facility in the Innovation Park, based in Stirling, Scotland, after being approved for an MIA (IMP) license by the MHRA, which allows the company to manufacture an array of products for global biotechnology clients.

This move, back in 2011, marked the emergence of improved technical capability, quality assurance, and operational flexibility to provide swift access to production slots to speed drug manufacture, enabling critical treatments to reach patients faster. 

More than a decade later, Symbiosis have announced new plans to invest £1 million in their in-house analytical and microbiology testing capabilities at their site in Stirling to power their ambitious growth plans.

Colin McKay, CEO of Symbiosis, commented on the investment into site developments, saying, “This investment is another clear statement of our continuing ambition to strengthen our service offering in response to the demands from existing clients and to position Symbiosis to attract further global biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients in the future.”  

3. Microplate Dx 

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical global health problem and is set to account for 10 million deaths a year by 2050 – more than cancer and diabetes combined. 

Pioneering diagnostics to improve antibiotic prescribing is vital to mitigate the impact of a probable ‘antibiotics apocalypse’.

Microplate Dx are a Glasgow-based organisation set to reform existing diagnostic antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST), accelerating the test process from around two days to just 30 minutes. This diagnostic development will enable clinicians to confidently and accurately prescribe antibiotics to treat patients – reducing the rate of antimicrobial infection and ultimately saving lives.

4. Curia 

Named after the Latin word for “purposeful assembly,” Curia play a pivotal role across the wider drug development lifecycle by helping organisations transform their ideas into tangible products to power the future of health.. 

As a globally established contract research development manufacturing organisation (CDMO), Curia has a high fill-finish capacity for a range of biologics, including those that are hard to fill.),  

With 3,100 employees operating across 21 sites in Asia, Europe, the U.S., and Scotland, Curia was well-equipped to support in the COVID-19 vaccination efforts, where the organisation filled and finished “millions of doses” of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. 

In Glasgow specifically, Curia handle fill-finish duties for a variety of biologics and medications, including antibody-drug conjugates, monoclonal antibodies, and much more.

5. NebuFlow 

Respiratory disorders are the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. (https://www.lifesciencesscotland.com/news/scottish-medtech-company-nebuflow-secures-1-7m-investment) 

Fragile, hard-to-nebulise drugs have the potential to transform the lives of patients, should they have proper access to the lungs. However, many life-changing formulations today lack the appropriate methods for direct delivery to the lung, damaging their clinical utility and impact.

NebuFlow are a Glasgow-based organisation set on developing and providing the next generation of nebulisers to activate efficient drug delivery to the lungs and transform the lives of patients across the globe.

Having received £1.7 million in investment to commercialise and deliver their respiratory pharmaceuticals, the growing organisation is set to realise its vision of transforming drug delivery and the lives of patients across the globe. 

How to accelerate your scientific career in Scotland

Feeling inspired to take your career to the next level?

At SRG, our specialist talent consultants are well-versed in Scotland’s scientific market and can help you access exciting opportunities across the life science industry.