Life sciences strategy for Scotland – 2035 vision

The Life Sciences Strategy for Scotland sets out a long-term vision to grow a world-leading, innovation-driven sector by 2035. This update highlights the strategy’s priorities, its focus on collaboration across industry and government, and the opportunities it creates for advancing health, research and economic growth.

The Scottish Government has published a refreshed Life Sciences Strategy for Scotland, setting out an ambitious plan to grow the sector to £25 billion by 2035 and position Scotland as a global leader in innovation, research and advanced manufacturing. The strategy aligns economic growth with NHS Scotland reform and focuses on creating the right environment for developing, testing and commercialising life sciences innovations.

Key themes and actions

Cluster development: Establish an industry-led cluster organisation to strengthen collaboration between business, academia and government.

Infrastructure: Address gaps in laboratory space and innovation facilities to support start-ups and scale-ups.

Advanced manufacturing: Embed manufacturing thinking early in R&D and attract inward investment to strategic sites such as AMIDS and Grangemouth.

Investment: Launch the InvestScotland portal to showcase opportunities and expand access to scale-up funding through the Scottish National Investment Bank and UK-wide funds.

Research and innovation: Increase commercialisation through initiatives including Techscaler and the Entrepreneurial Campus Blueprint.

Skills and talent: Update apprenticeship frameworks, expand internships and align workforce development with industry needs.

Digital, data and AI: Launch AI Scotland in 2026 to coordinate national AI activity and support life sciences innovation; pilot SME awards for data-driven product development.

Internationalisation: Deliver the Life Sciences Sector Export Plan to grow exports and attract foreign direct investment.

Sustainability: Embed net zero principles across manufacturing and R&D processes.

NHS Scotland collaboration: Strengthen clinical research infrastructure, accelerate innovation adoption through the ANIA Pathway and expand Regional Innovation Hubs.

Delivery approach

The strategy will be delivered through four implementation sprints:

Sprint 1 (2026): Cluster setup, skills development and baseline KPIs.
Sprint 2 (2027–2028): Scale-up and export growth.
Sprint 3 (2029–2031): Continued growth and review.
Sprint 4 (2032–2035): Global positioning and system consolidation.

Opportunities for techUK members

Digital health and AI: Engage with AI Scotland and NHS innovation pathways to develop and scale AI-driven health solutions.

Data access: Participate in Research Data Scotland’s SME pilot for secure and ethical use of health data in product development.

NHS collaboration: Use Scotland Innovates and Regional Innovation Hubs as entry points for testing and scaling health technologies.

Export growth: Leverage the Life Sciences Sector Export Plan to access international markets and build partnerships.

Investment and partnerships: Showcase projects on the InvestScotland portal and explore funding via the Scottish National Investment Bank, the UK Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund and wider co-investment schemes.

Skills development: Collaborate on apprenticeships, internships and mentoring programmes to grow the talent pipeline.

Sustainability: Innovate in bio-based manufacturing and green technologies to support Scotland’s net zero ambitions.

Rachel Kennedy

Programme Manager Health and Social Care, techUK

Rachel joined techUK in December 2024, as a Programme Manager in the Health and Social Care team.

Prior to this, Rachel worked at a specialist health and social care public affairs agency, working with a range of organisations and trade bodies across the medical technology, pharmaceutical, digital health and social care sectors. As well as this, Rachel was part of the Secretariat for a number of health and care related All-Party Parliamentary Groups.

Rachel has a Masters in Global Governance and Diplomacy from the University of Leeds, as well as a first-class honours in Politics BA from Newcastle University.

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