The ‘golden triangle’ is the world-leading life sciences cluster of London, Oxford, Cambridge and England’s greater southeast. Today, the golden triangle is made up of the most Life Science companies in one place.
Read on to find out:
- What is the golden triangle?
- Why is the golden triangle so special?
- Pioneering Life Sciences companies in the golden triangle.
- The top 5 bio-tech leaders in the golden triangle.
What is the golden triangle?
The golden triangle is a term used to describe the science, technology and innovation cluster in the southeast of England which is made up of Oxford, Cambridge and London. The golden triangle has been named as one of the top 25 clusters in the world. The Life Sciences sector continued to experience rapid expansion in 2022, with underlying trends leading new and experienced investors into the market.
In 2022, the sector reached £2.4bn in investment volumes and it remain strong and is growing rapidly, as there is a high demand for lab space - London accounted for 39% of all life science leasing activity in 2022.
UK's former prime minister, Boris Johnson promised to increase British scientific funding for pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sectors, by 80% by 2024, taking it to £22 billion. Biotechnology is the centre for the investment community. For example, Autolus Therapeutics, secured funding of $250 million within three months. Given this support from both government and the investment community, it is unsurprising to see that the Golden Triangle continues to grow.
Why is this area so special?
The cluster, known as the golden triangle, is a rich network of renowned research centres, healthcare providers and medical charities in a compact region which is home to four of the ten most best universities in the world for healthcare: University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London and University College London.
It has five out of seven of the UK’s academic health science centres and is home to the leading medical research institutes including the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, and the national Cell Therapy Catapult, focusing on stem cell research and industrialisation.
The golden triangle has brought in many investments into the Life Sciences industry and has positively impacted many organisations within the industry. For example, The Francis Crick Institute – brought 1,500 scientists into their company, AstraZeneca’s Global R&D Centre brought 2,000 employees together in Cambridge and The Institute of Cancer Research created the world’s second largest cancer research campus in south London.
Now, these are just some examples, the potential the Life Sciences industry has, is incredible.
Pioneering Life Sciences companies:
The golden triangle is home to a large percentage of the UK’s biotech industry, ranging from huge pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca and GSK, to top biotech companies such as Immunocore and Horizon.
1. AstraZeneca, established in 1999, is a leading biopharmaceutical company, which is focused on discovery, production and the commercialisation of prescription drugs. AstraZeneca deals with products related to respiratory, cardiovascular, cancer, autoimmune, infection and neurological diseases.
2. GSK, founded in 2000, offers pharmaceutical products in the therapeutic areas, such as infection disease, HIV, respiratory, immunology and oncology.
3. Oxford Biomedica, established in 1995, is a leading company focused on cell and gene therapy and delivering life changing therapies to patients.
4. Autolus, founded in 2014, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on T-cell programming and manufacturing technology.
5. Immunocore, founded in 2008 and based in Oxfordshire, is a leading global biotechnology company, which researches and develops biological drugs using T-cell receptor technology.
6. Horizon Therapeutics was established in 2005 and is a biopharmaceutical company focused on researching, developing and commercialising medicines for people who are impacted by rare diseases.
The top 5 biotech leaders in the golden triangle:
1. Greg Winter, founder of Cambridge Antibody Technology (Cambridge)
Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) discovered and developed the best-selling drug Humira. Grey Winter then founded Bicycle Therapeutics, Domantis and became the deputy director of the MRC and the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the University of Cambridge.
2. Kate Bingham, managing partner of SV Life Sciences (London)
She has played a key part in making the biotech industry more diverse and equal. She was a part of setting up the Dementia Discovery Fund, that raised $350M.
3. James Noble, Co-founder & CEO of Adaptimmune (Oxford)
4. Eva-Lotta Allan, Non-Executive Director at Crescendo Biologics and Targovax (Cambridge)
5. Emma Walmsley, CEO of GSK (London)
The golden triangle also known as the "brainbelt" is on the rise and making huge strides for the industry, with the increased use of smart medical devices, continuous innovations to improve patient care and the increased use of big data, collaborating to make the industry as best it can be.
nufuture
The world of work is all about people and purpose and that’s why we partner with pioneering Life Sciences companies that are making a difference.
We spend our time and energy getting to know you first, to find out exactly the type of position or people you’re looking for, before matching you to your ideal company or selecting the best person for your requirement.
We’re already well-connected with the best IT talent and organisations in the Life Sciences industry. Get in touch and we’ll do the intro.
Connect with nufuture today to find out how we can help you.
Bracknell phone: 01344 289224
Manchester phone: 0161 791 0237
Email info@nufuture.co.uk