UK life science company formation: patterns of growth in UK regions and the role of biotechnology incubators

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McDonald-Junor, D. ORCID: 0000-0002-4121-1176, Ehret, M. ORCID: 0000-0002-2478-8889 and Smith, D. ORCID: 0000-0001-7359-8451, 2015. UK life science company formation: patterns of growth in UK regions and the role of biotechnology incubators. In: R&D Management Conference, Scoula Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy, 23-26 June 2015.

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Abstract

This study examines the regional distribution of new life science company formation and highlights 'hotspots' of where new activity is relatively intense. The analysis indicates that there are generally two types of region, the first type contains life science clusters that were established during the early 2000s and the second type displayed little or no significant life science activity during this period. This study analyses survey data (n=580) and evidences new patterns of life science company activity within peripheral UK regions. The study shows that new life science activity is occurring away from the traditional 'Golden Triangle' of London, Cambridge and Oxford. New life science company activity can be found in peripheral regions such as the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside, the North West and in Scotland. The evidence contained in this study suggests that new UK life science company activity is supported by the presence of UK biotechnology incubators. During the early 2000s there were only a handful of biotechnology incubators in the UK, by 2012 there over twenty-five. This study provides evidence to suggest that UK biotechnology incubators play an important role in supporting new life science companies. Since the early 2000s, biotechnology incubators have appeared in the same regions that display significant levels of new life science company activity. Furthermore, significant proportions of new life science companies are located in biotechnology incubators within regions that displayed little or no significant life science activity during the early 2000s. This study demonstrates that biotechnology incubators have an important role to play in supporting regional innovation systems, especially within peripheral regions in the UK.

Item Type:	Conference contribution
Creators:	McDonald-Junor, D., Ehret, M. and Smith, D.
Date:	2015
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	18 Apr 2016 09:51
Last Modified:	09 Jun 2017 14:01
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27645