Scotland’s life sciences industry grows by more than £1bn in a year

The life sciences industry in Scotland has grown by more than £1 billion in a year and created 3,000 extra jobs, new official figures have revealed.

The statistics were announced at the annual Life Sciences Scotland conference at the University of Strathclyde, organised by The Scotsman Conferences.

Dave Tudor, Co-chair of the Life Sciences Scotland Industry Leadership Group, told the conference the sector was now a £5.2 billion turnover industry employing 40,000 people.

Mr Tudor, also Head of Manufacturing Strategy at GSK, 0 Ivan Mckee says close collaboration supports growth

said: “This confirms the great progress we are making and that our strategy is beginning to deliver, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

The figures puts the sector on track to reach the strategy target of £8 billion by 2025.

Ivan Mckee MSP, Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation, also spoke at the event. He said: “The strong growth in the sector is supported by a close collaboration between industry, academia and the public sector.”

Linda Hanna, MD of Scottish Economic Development at Scottish Enterprise said: “The statistics illustrate the dynamism of the life sciences sector in Scotland. To ensure this sector continues to flourish in Scotland, we are helping businesses to accelerate their growth by investing in innovation and international expansion.”