UK Biotechnology Clusters

Executive Summary and Recommendations

This report draws on a fact-finding mission to examine biotechnology clusters in the UK. The UK leads Europe in biotechnology, although still some way behind the US. The report builds on the work of Michael Porter and others which show benefits to start ups and SMEs from being located in a cluster. The UK has achieved much in building biotechnology clusters in some areas and creating a supportive environment for biotechnology start ups, and we aim to capture and spread best practice about cluster development. The report also aims to better understand how Government and others may further support cluster development to enable UK biotechnology companies to meet new challenges. The next few years will be critical ones which will determine how many start-ups grow into significant and globally competitive businesses.

Clusters can be defined as geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialised suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries, and associated institutions. Successful clusters have a range of different factors in place, and the ten factors we view as critical are shown below. These factors exist to varying degrees in the areas we visited in the UK. We do not believe, however, that there is any single formula or sequence for building successful clusters, and we do not think it is realistic for every region in the UK to develop a biotechnology cluster. Rather we see a cluster approach as building on strengths and removing barriers to development. To get the factors right for cluster development requires actions and co-ordination between government departments, devolved administrations, regional economic development agencies, universities, companies and others. We offer a number of specific recommendations and issues for further consideration aimed at removing barriers to cluster development. Although these arise from our work on biotechnology clusters we think that many of the same issues arise in other sectors in the knowledge driven economy, and the recommendations would therefore apply equally there.

Critical factors for cluster development

Strong Science Base

Leading edge science (including basic, applied and clinical research), academic entrepreneurs, and a critical mass of research activity provides the lifeblood of biotechnology clusters. The UK has a world class research base and is particularly strong in many areas of bioscience. In our view, however, a number of barriers and disincentives remain to the effective exploitation of the UK science base. One such barrier can be determining ownership of intellectual property (IP) from research funded by bodies with differing IP policies.

Entrepreneurial Culture

We applaud the improvements made by Universities and research institutes in recent years to improve commercial awareness and entrepreneurship among researchers. We found, however, that young researchers often lack opportunities to build the skills needed for commercialising research. We also see a role for further business competitions to foster entrepreneurship among young researchers, and commend the $50k scheme run by MIT as a model.

Growing company base

Clusters need thriving start ups as well as more mature companies that can act as role models. A key challenge is how to capitalise on the UK’s European lead in biotechnology start ups and support these companies as they develop. A crucial issue for companies in biotechnology and other research driven sectors is how to sustain their R&D activities over the relatively long periods before products reach market. We consider that existing mechanisms do not adequately meet needs and were greatly impressed during our visits to the US by the role played by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programme in supporting the early development of research driven companies.

Ability to attract key staff

Biotechnology companies must be able to attract the best management and scientific staff from overseas and larger companies. Clusters can help attract staff by providing an intellectual and business ‘buzz’ and offering a range of employment opportunities for partners and career development. The quality of life, areas of natural beauty and vibrant international cities also play a role in individual decisions about where to locate. Share options are also important for attracting the best staff, and we found that UK biotechnology companies wanting to attract UK managers who had gone to the US back to the UK were not able to match the share options the managers were getting there.

Availability of finance

Biotechnology companies are often dependent on the financial community to support them for long periods of time. Companies and investors valued being located close to each other in clusters. A problem at the national level is a growing shortfall in the amount of equity finance available for biotechnology companies. We are impressed by the increase in equity finance that has been achieved in Germany through enhanced incentives. Substantial amounts of equity finance will need to flow into biotechnology companies in the UK over the next decade if we are to maintain our lead in Europe and we believe that improving incentives for private investment is the most effective way to increase equity finance in the UK for high technology companies.

Premises and infrastructure

Biotechnology companies require specialist premises with leasing arrangements which are flexible enough to meet their changing needs. We found that laboratory space is often not available in locations where they are needed, or do not provide the terms and conditions which adequately meet company needs. We encourage the private sector, university landlords and others to consider ways to provide short term leasing arrangements for biotechnology companies, and for biotechnology companies to communicate better their current and future accommodation needs. We also consider government can play an important role through the planning system.

Business support services and large companies

Proximity to specialist business services, such as patent agents, lawyers, recruitment and property advisors form an important benefit for companies in clusters. Proximity to large companies in industries relating to biotechnology (e.g. pharmaceutical, agrifood and chemical) is an important driver to cluster development in a number of ways, such as providing management expertise, partnering opportunities and customers to biotechnology companies.

Skilled workforce

In most areas we found that biotechnology companies were generally able to recruit scientists and technicians to meet their needs. We were also impressed by a number of innovative training programmes designed to meet specific needs of local biotechnology companies that have been set up in some parts of the country.

Effective networks

We found a number of regional biotechnology associations that provided opportunities for companies, researchers, and others to meet and exchange views and information, as well as undertaking a range of activities to promote biotechnology in the area. Whilst these biotechnology associations in the UK are in their infancy we found much to commend in the support they provided to companies and in the growth of clusters. We consider that the limited amount of public money that has been secured for the associations has been successfully used and, at least for the short term, we support the case for continuing support.

Supportive policy environment

Public policy cannot create clusters, they must be business driven. Central, regional and local government do, however, create the conditions which encourage their formation and growth. Central Government is responsible for setting the macro-economic conditions which support innovation and in ensuring that regulations are necessary and proportionate. In Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland some of these functions are devolved to the new administrations. We believe that Government can play a new role in collecting and analysing comparative data in order to map clusters across sectors in the UK. This would provide a tool for government to understand better the dynamics of cluster development.

We found that regional economic development agencies can play a leading role in catalysing partnerships to support cluster development and improving the environment for cluster growth. The English Regional Development Agencies create a new opportunity for clusters to be supported at a regional level and for DTI policies to be implemented in a way which ‘goes with the grain ‘of cluster development. The economic development agencies of the devolved administrations can play a similar role to animate cluster development at the regional level. We commend in particular the innovative approach that Scottish Enterprise has taken in developing a clusters approach.

Note that the full UK Biotechnology Clusters Report
is available by in a Microsoft Word file format (410 kb) for downloading:

UK Biotechnology Clusters Report