cancer research uk annual report 2021

Together we are beating cancer

About cancer

Cancer types

• Breast cancer
• Bowel cancer
• Lung cancer
• Prostate cancer

Cancers in general

• Clinical trials

Causes of cancer

Coping with cancer

• Managing symptoms and side effects
• Mental health and cancer
• Money and travel
• Death and dying
• Cancer Chat forum

Health Professionals

• Cancer Statistics
• Cancer Screening
• Learning and Support
• NICE suspected cancer referral guidelines

Get involved

• Make a donation

By cancer type

• Leave a legacy gift
• Donate in Memory

Find an event

• Race for Life
• Charity runs
• Charity walks
• Search events
• Relay For Life
• Volunteer in our shops
• Help at an event
• Help us raise money
• Campaign for us

Do your own fundraising

• Fundraising ideas
• Get a fundraising pack
• Return fundraising money
• Fundraise by cancer type
• Set up a Cancer Research UK Giving Page
• Find a shop or superstore
• Become a partner
• Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People
• Our We Are campaign

Our research

• Brain tumours
• Skin cancer
• All cancer types

By cancer topic

• New treatments
• Cancer biology
• Cancer drugs
• All cancer subjects
• All locations

By Researcher

• Professor Duncan Baird
• Professor Fran Balkwill
• Professor Andrew Biankin
• See all researchers
• Our achievements timeline
• Our research strategy
• Involving animals in research

Funding for researchers

Research opportunities

• For discovery researchers
• For clinical researchers
• For population researchers
• In drug discovery & development
• In early detection & diagnosis
• For students & postdocs

Our funding schemes

• Career Development Fellowship
• Discovery Programme Awards
• Clinical Trial Award
• Biology to Prevention Award
• View all schemes and deadlines

Applying for funding

• Start your application online
• How to make a successful application
• Funding committees
• Successful applicant case studies

How we deliver research

• Our research infrastructure
• Events and conferences
• Our research partnerships
• Facts & figures about our funding
• Develop your research career
• Recently funded awards
• Manage your research grant
• Notify us of new publications

Find a shop

• Volunteer in a shop
• Donate goods to a shop
• Our superstores

Shop online

• Wedding favours
• Cancer Care
• Flower Shop

Our eBay store

• Shoes and boots
• Bags and purses
• We beat cancer
• We fundraise
• We develop policy
• Our global role

Our organisation

• Our strategy
• Our Trustees
• CEO and Executive Board

How we spend your money

• Early careers

Cancer news

• Cancer News
• For Researchers
• For Supporters
• Press office
• Publications
• Update your contact preferences

ABOUT CANCER

GET INVOLVED

NEWS & RESOURCES

FUNDING & RESEARCH

You are here

Read our Annual report and accounts 2022/23

See how far we’ve come and discover how your support is powering progress.  

Download the report

We want to bring about a world where everybody lives longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer. And thanks to your support, we’re able to fund some of the world’s best scientists to carry out cutting-edge research that saves and improves lives every day. In this report, you can read about the progress we’ve made together this year and how we spent the money we received to achieve it. You can download the report but if you’re looking for a quick summary of where your support goes, this page has got you covered.

We can only achieve our mission to beat cancer thanks to the incredible generosity of our supporters, volunteers and partners. 

In 2022/23, we raised a total of £719m. This includes:  

£490m from fundraising, including £261m in legacies 

£127m from trading activities such as our shops 

£9m from our portfolio of investments 

£93m from royalties and grants, including our share of sales from innovations developed from our research. 

Our expenditure

Every pound is important. That’s why we carefully decide where best to spend our money to power progress for people affected by cancer.

In 2022/23, our annual expenditure was £641m. This includes:

• £398m committed to research

• £27m on information and influencing work

• £109m raising donated income and managing our investments

• £107m running our shops and other trading activity.

Our world-leading research

The amount we spend varies year to year as we don’t allocate all our resources ahead of time.

In 2022/23, we committed £398m to cancer research. Some of this will be paid out this year, and some of it will be paid out in future years during the life of the research projects we’ve committed to.

This year, we spent £415m on cancer research. This includes money we committed to in previous years but paid out this year, as well as money paid out to new projects we committed  to this year.

We are beating cancer step by step, year by year.

The progress we've made

Your support and the world-class research we fund today will lead to discoveries that can be turned into new tests and treatments in the future, just as the research we funded many years ago is saving and improving lives today.

Thank you for making breakthroughs happen.  

Discover our achievements

Our annual research activity

In 2022/23, we spent £415m on new and ongoing research. This includes: 

£176m on research projects focused on specific cancer types 

£89m relevant to all types of cancer (eg research infrastructure and research studies looking at cancer survivorship)  

£83m on basic research understanding the fundamental biology of cancer  

£40m on research admin and support costs (eg peer review, grant management, IT and other support costs) 

£27m on revenue shares (share of royalties from sales of innovations developed from our research, which we passed on to others) 

In 2022/23, we spent £18.7m on research specific to cancers that affect 0–24-year-olds, making us the biggest charitable funder of research into children’s and young people’s cancers. 

Our annual spend on specific cancer type research

In 2022/23 we spent £176m on research projects focused on specific cancer types. Here’s how that breaks down for spend per cancer type.

Pence in the pound

In 2022/23, for every £1 you donated, 82p was available to beat cancer. The amount available varies from year to year, but we aim to keep it around the 80p mark.

We don’t include our trading activities in this calculation, as our shops operate like other retail businesses, raising funds through selling merchandise. This also shows you the impact of your donations and means you can easily compare us with other charities that don’t have retail shops.

Chief Executive and staff salaries

We know it’s important for you to know how we spend your donations. We’re transparent in all areas of our work.  

Our Chief Executive, Michelle Mitchell OBE, was paid £254,900 base salary between April 2022 and March 2023. 

As the world’s leading cancer charity, dedicated to saving lives through research, influence and information, we need to attract and retain high-performing people. The salaries we pay reflect individual responsibilities and performance, whilst ensuring the best use of your donations. 

We employ people to help us achieve our vision of a world where everyone can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer. For a more detailed breakdown of staff pay, please see page 141 of our  Annual Report and Accounts .(PDF).

More information

Teams of experts collaborate with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, along with the research community, to translate scientific discoveries into cutting-edge therapies. Find out more about how we partner with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies here.

The host institution list is an analysis of grant costs by host institution which forms part of our audited accounts.

Some of our scientists serve on our grant-making committees and lead research projects that receive grant funding from Cancer Research UK during the year.

Our previous annual reports

Log in to online services

Accounts and annual returns CANCER RESEARCH UK

(Charity users only)

Tell us whether you accept cookies

We use cookies to collect information about how you use the Charity Commission Register of Charities and Digital Services, such as pages you visit.

We use this information to better understand how you use our website so that we can improve your user experience and present more relevant content.

Thank you for your feedback. Do you have 5 minutes to tell us what you think of this service? Open in new window

The Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute Annual Scientific Report

Our annual Scientific Report details the activities of each research group, describing their publications and research projects for the year. It also contains information about technical and operational activities and our funding streams.

The most recent annual report is available for download:

Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2022. The document is in Adobe Acrobat PDF Format.  To download and install the free Acrobat Reader please visit Adobe.

Previous Annual Reports

• Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2021
• Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2020
• Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2019
• Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2018
• Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2017
• Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2016
• Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2015
• Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2014
• Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2013
• Paterson Institute for Cancer Research SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2012
• Paterson Institute for Cancer Research SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2011
• Paterson Institute for Cancer Research SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2010
• Paterson Institute for Cancer Research SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2009
• Paterson Institute for Cancer Research SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2008
• Paterson Institute for Cancer Research SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2007
• Paterson Institute for Cancer Research SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2006
• Paterson Institute for Cancer Research SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2005
• Paterson Institute for Cancer Research SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2004
• Paterson Institute for Cancer Research SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2003

NB: The Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute changed its name from the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research on 1 October 2013.

Related Items

About The Institute

Organisation Structure

Collaborations

About the Manchester Cancer Research Centre

Annual Report

Scientific Advisory Board

Accessibility

Use of Animals in Our Research

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Statement of Research Integrity

Related Links

Cancer Research UK Manchester Centre

Manchester Cancer Research Centre

CRUK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence

Download our Annual Report

Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute The University of Manchester Wilmslow Road Manchester M20 4BX

Telephone 0161 306 0871 Email [email protected]

Internet Explorer is no longer supported by Microsoft. To browse the NIHR site please use a modern, secure browser like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge.

Annual Report 2021/2022

Published: 20 December 2022

Version: 1.0

Introduction

Welcome to the NIHR annual report covering the period April 2021 to March 2022. This is my first annual report since being appointed Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive of NIHR in August 2021.

This year has been a year of transition. It began in a COVID-19-enforced lockdown when the pandemic was the focus of much of NIHR’s work and attention and the vaccination programme that we were central to developing was well underway. As the months passed, we gradually returned to supporting a more balanced portfolio of research. Over the year, COVID-19 evolved from being an emergency priority to settling as a ‘constant’ consideration in our mission to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.

In June 2021, we published  Best Research for Best Health: The Next Chapter which sets out our priorities now and into the future. In this document, we identify seven ‘areas of strategic focus’ – areas where we need to work with urgency and in fundamentally different ways if we are to address the changing needs of people and communities in the 21st century. All support NIHR’s commitment to addressing health inequalities.

One of our areas of strategic focus is embedding equality, diversity and inclusion across NIHR’s research, systems and culture. This is to ensure that our research reflects the diversity of the UK population leading to better health outcomes and more value for money through higher economic returns to research. In August  we instigated a three-month self-assessment of how race equality is delivered in health research, working in partnership with local government, higher education, the NHS, and the life sciences and third sectors. At the same time, we collated and  published our first set of annual diversity data for funding programmes, which will provide a vital benchmark to monitor our progress in EDI over time.

In line with the Government’s commitment to Open Access, we  published a new Open Access policy for NIHR-funded researchers in November. All peer-reviewed research articles arising from NIHR-funded research studies will now be immediately available under an open licence. Following this, we worked with stakeholders to develop resources to support implementation , which we released in March. Resources included  step-by-step policy guidance and a short checklist quickly summarising how to comply with the policy. 

Our portfolio remains aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and during this year we increased our commitment to promoting universal health coverage and contributing towards addressing the emerging health challenges of climate change. In November, at  the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, I announced a new package of funding for research into climate and health. It included a £20 million funding call to develop new evidence to improve the health outcomes of people most affected by climate change and extreme weather events in low and middle-income countries. Four months later, we launched major research calls into delivering more sustainable health and care systems at home and abroad .

Our year of transition was highlighted by key appointments and recognitions. At the same time as I was appointed to my role, Professor Waljit Dhillo was appointed to the role of Dean of the NIHR Academy . As Dean, he supports the delivery and development of NIHR research training programmes, ensuring they meet the needs of the current research landscape. He also ensures that NIHR’s strategy addresses equality, diversity and inclusion across all academic and research capacity programmes, schemes and initiatives.    

During the year, it was wonderful to see many NIHR leaders being awarded honours . Dr Jonathan Sheffield, former Chief Executive of the NIHR’s Clinical Research Network, and Professor Nick Lemoine , Medical Director of the Network, both received CBEs for services to medical/ clinical research, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Kamlesh Khunti, Director of NIHR’s Applied Research Collaborations in the East Midlands, received a CBE for services to health, and Professor Martin Knapp, Director of the NIHR School for Social Care Research, received a CBE for services to social care research. I was also pleased to note that a number of other leaders were awarded an OBE or MBE.

Towards the end of the year, we decided to change the name of the NIHR to the ‘National Institute for Health and Care Research’  with effect from the beginning of April 2022. Since its establishment in 2006, the NIHR has invested over £200m in more than 470 social care research projects, with £90m worth of NIHR-funded social care studies starting in the last three years. We are committed to both deepening and broadening the range of social care we support - through funding a range of projects, building capacity within our research delivery infrastructure, strengthening the links between academia and practice, and engaging carers and people who need care and support.

In this report, we have showcased some of the work that we have undertaken, highlighted through our six core workstreams. Over the year, NIHR had a positive impact on government policy and on health and social care practice in numerous areas, some of which are highlighted in this report; you can learn more about  our impact and stay up to date with NIHR news through our social media channels . 

Professor Lucy Chappell Chief Scientific Advisor, DHSC Chief Executive of NIHR

Funding high-quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care

Our commitment to funding health, public health and social care research across a range of programmes and organisations leads to improved outcomes for patients and the public, and a more efficient, effective and safe health and social care system. We work closely with stakeholders across the system to address the challenges they face and ensure we respond to their research needs.

Caring for older people at home can be just as good, or even better, than hospital care

The results of an NIHR-funded study published in April 2021 in  Annals of Internal Medicine show that caring for a select group of vulnerable, older people at home can improve patient outcomes while reducing pressures on hospitals. The randomised trial led by Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford involved over 1000 older participants with an average age of 83 years. Participants were randomly assigned to either hospital admission or ‘hospital at home’ treatment, providing an alternative to hospital admission where hospital-standard care is provided to patients in their homes. 

Read our news story on caring for older people at home .

Outcomes of NIHR's second long COVID funding call 

Recent research shows that as many as a third of people who report being infected with coronavirus also report Long Covid. The condition can present with a number of ongoing symptoms including fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive impairment known as ‘brain fog’. In July 2021, NIHR awarded 15 projects from across the UK a total of £19.6 million to examine causes of long COVID, trial drugs to tackle it, and investigate symptoms that have become synonymous with the condition. Studies will also evaluate health services, such as long COVID clinics, and explore ways patients can monitor the condition to optimise their recovery and return to work.

Read our news story on NIHR's long covid funding call .

Trial finds new CAR T-cell therapy increases targeting and killing of cancer cells

Early-stage research funded by the NIHR Invention for Innovation  and supported by the NIHR UCLH Biomedical Research Centre  suggests a new version of an immunotherapy called  CAR T-cell therapy has fewer toxic side effects and is effective for longer in adults with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL), a group who previously had few treatment options available. Phase 1 clinical trial results, published in the  Journal of Clinical Oncology in January 2022, showed patients did not present cytokine release syndrome, and their CAR T-cell levels remained high, with persistence evident in three-quarters of patients for around six months. One month after treatment, 85% of the patients were in complete remission.

Read our news story about a new version of an immunotherapy for adults with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia .

Ground-breaking COVID-19 antiviral treatment opens to recruitment

In December 2021, Panoramic, an NIHR-funded and supported, nationwide trial , began assessing the effectiveness of a range of novel, purpose-designed COVID-19 antivirals. These new orally administered treatments are intended for use in the very early stages of infection by people with COVID-19 at higher risk of complications from the disease. The  Panoramic trial remains open to participants from across the UK until each arm of the study reaches 10,600 volunteers. It has been designed as a ‘platform clinical trial’, meaning it can rapidly evaluate several antiviral treatments that could help clinically vulnerable people recover sooner, prevent the need for hospital admission and so ease the burden on the NHS.

Read our news story on the trial of new COVID-19 oral antiviral treatments .

New funding boost for NIHR mental health research in under-served areas

Mental health problems are the largest cause of disability in the UK and represent an increasing disease burden across all ages. Following the 2020/21 Spending Review, the DHSC and the NIHR announced a new rapid Mental Health Research Initiative to help tackle the disparity between regional needs and mental health research activity. Since June 2021 the NIHR has funded more than 100 new mental health projects in areas of unmet need across its research infrastructure, research schools and research funding programmes, in its biggest-ever coordinated investment in UK mental health research. This funding is in addition to NIHR’s existing investment in mental health research.

Read our news story on NIHR mental health research funding .

Major new funding opportunities for local government-based public health research collaborations

In September 2021, NIHR launched an exciting new initiative to fund public health research collaborations based in local authorities. This is the first time NIHR has provided funding for public health research infrastructure based in local government. The NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaborations (HDRCs) focus on how to address the wider determinants of population health and health inequalities, explicitly addressing the needs of local disadvantaged groups. This new funding is one of a number of initiatives that NIHR is putting in place to build capacity and capability in preventative, public health and social care research.

Read our news story on public health research in local authorities funding .

Investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce, to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services

Our infrastructure supports the research we fund and underpins research funded by others, transforming the health system’s ability to turn scientific discoveries into new or improved treatments and services. The widespread, national uptake of these innovations is enabled by applied research studies delivered through this infrastructure.

NIHR launches a new funding competition to drive innovation in health research

In April 2021, NIHR launched a new competition to fund research to translate lab-based discoveries into new treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies for patients. The new NIHR Biomedical Research Centre funding brings together academics and doctors to translate advances in biomedical research into benefits for patients and the health system and support partnerships between universities and NHS hospitals to drive innovation in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of ill-health. The new centres also act as a major component of the nation’s knowledge economy, attracting investment from the life sciences industry and making the research environment in England more competitive.

Read our news story on the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres funding competition .

New accredited register for the Clinical Research Practitioner profession

The NIHR announced in June 2021 the launch of a  new UK-wide professional accreditation scheme for  Clinical Research Practitioners (CRPs) as part of efforts to double the number of this important workforce over the next few years. The aim of introducing this register is to improve professional identity, recognise the vital role CRPs play in research delivery, and provide a clear path for their career development. The standards set are similar to the high levels found in statutory regulation for nursing and other allied health professions. A successful application to the accredited register demonstrates that practitioners meet a defined set of standards and work within an agreed scope of practice.

Read our news story on the Clinical Research Practitioners accreditation scheme .

Thanks to ground-breaking clinical trials, a life-saving anti-cholesterol drug recommended on NHS

A  ground-breaking drug to combat heart disease could soon be offered by the NHS, following an innovative programme of clinical trials delivered by the NIHR Clinical Research Network . The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended in September 2021 that inclisiran, a treatment to lower cholesterol, should be offered to patients who have already had a stroke or heart attack and are not responding to other cholesterol-lowering treatments. The drug would be delivered as a twice-yearly injection to eligible patients with prior experience of heart attack or stroke, potentially replacing the need to take statins daily while saving thousands of lives a year.

Read our news story on an anti-cholesterol drug trial .

New funding boost for delivery of early-stage clinical research across England

In February 2022, we announced nearly £161 million to fund 28 NIHR Clinical Research Facilities  (CRFs), expanding the delivery of early phase clinical research in NHS hospitals across England. These facilities support the delivery of early translational and experimental medicine research, from studies testing new treatments in patients for the very first time (first-in-human trials) to early safety and efficacy trials (Phase IIa trials). A total of 28 NIHR CRFs were awarded funding  in this latest round, six more than previously, with about half of the funding awarded to NIHR CRFs outside of London, Oxford and Cambridge.

Read our news story on £161m funding boost awarded to NIHR Clinical Research Facilities .

Patients with unexplained chest pain are at an increased risk of suffering a heart attack later in life

NIHR-supported researchers reported in March 2022 that people with unattributed chest pain were at a 15% increased risk of a heart attack in the first year after visiting their GP, with a continued increased risk over the next 10 years. Many of the one million UK adults seeing their GP because of chest pain each year will not receive a diagnosis, and their records will state they have unattributed chest pain. Heart-related chest pain can be difficult for GPs to diagnose because the symptoms may be put down to other commonly associated conditions, and blockages to the smallest blood vessels supplying the heart are too small to see with traditional tests. The researchers now aim to identify common factors in patients who did go on to suffer a heart attack. This information will help GPs identify those patients with unexplained chest pain who are most at risk so they can be offered medication or further support at an earlier stage to reduce likelihood of a future heart attack.

Read our news story on unexplained chest pain .

World-first CJD treatment shows promising early results

Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare and fatal disease that causes brain damage and for which there is currently no licensed treatment. Most patients die within a few months of diagnosis. In March 2022, a first-in-human treatment designed specifically for CJD showed encouraging early results that may contribute to the development of new treatments for other neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers at the NIHR UCLH Biomedical Research Centre  developed a monoclonal antibody that was given to six patients with CJD. Given the small number of patients treated, researchers say the findings should be regarded as preliminary and further studies are needed to draw more comprehensive conclusions.

Read our news story on Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease treatment .

Partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities to improve the relevance, quality and impact of our research

Shaped through collaboration with patients, service users, carers and communities, NIHR’s research is driven by people, who contribute at every stage of the research pathway and play a vital role by volunteering to participate in studies and trials. We always value and recognise people’s contributions, so all perspectives and experiences are heard and acted upon.

NIHR survey reveals public attitudes to health research following coronavirus

A survey commissioned by the NIHR to mark International Clinical Trials Day in May 2021 revealed a significant disconnect exists between people’s perceptions of the importance of coronavirus research, and their understanding of where it happened and who took part. The YouGov survey asked respondents about their understanding of coronavirus research and the role it has played in tackling the pandemic. It showed that most UK adults believed health research played a very (71%) or fairly (19%) important role in the coronavirus pandemic. 29% of respondents said they trusted health research more now than before the pandemic began, and just over a quarter (27%) said they were now more likely to take part in health research. The survey also identified that there are significant generational differences in attitude to coronavirus research across a range of issues.

Read our news story on attitudes to health research following coronavirus .

Participation in NIHR Clinical Research Network studies doubles in pandemic year

NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) annual statistics released in July 2021 showed the extraordinary impact the organisation made in delivering vital clinical research during the 2020/21 pandemic. An unprecedented number of participants took part in NIHR CRN-supported studies in the twelve months between April 2020 and March 2021, with participation levels nearly double the previous year. Over this period, a total of 1,390,483 participants enrolled in CRN portfolio studies in England - up from 732,176 in 2019/20.

Read our news story on record breaking participation in research .

NIHR’s next steps for working in partnership with patients and the public

NIHR has long led the way in partnership working with patients and the public to shape and conduct research in health and social care. Jeremy Taylor, NIHR Director for Public Voice, outlined in an article how we plan to build on our work in this area following a series of workshops with the research community and public contributors. Initiatives include developing an improvement programme, for example encouraging the research community to work more inclusively with a diverse range of people and communities, and prioritising public partnerships to build long-term, equitable relationships with communities as the foundation for a shared approach to research.

Read about the NIHR's plans for working with patients and the public .

High numbers of research participants believe their contribution is valued by researchers

Results from the 2020/21 NIHR Clinical Research Network Participant in Research Experience Survey (PRES) published in October 2021 showed that 93% of participants felt the contribution they made to research through taking part was valued by the researchers and study teams. In addition, respondents highlighted the professionalism, knowledge and friendliness of the research teams as contributing to their positive experiences of taking part in research, with 98% of respondents saying they felt they were treated with courtesy and respect; and 94% of respondents said they would consider taking part in research again.

Find out more about the NIHR CRN Participant in Research Experience Survey .

High numbers of patients and public involved in NIHR’s work report a positive experience

Complementing the aforementioned PRES report, a separate survey of public contributors involved in NIHR’s work reported in January 2022 that patients, carers and the public are involved across many different stages of research, and the majority of people report a positive experience. 79% of people involved with the NIHR felt satisfied or very satisfied and respondents welcomed the opportunities to be involved in the NIHR’s work and research, which they felt was important and much needed. In addition, a majority of survey respondents (63%) felt their involvement had made a difference, with a further 19% stating it had sometimes made a difference.

Find out more about the NIHR survey of public contributors .

NIHR unites with health and social care leaders to improve public involvement in research

Funders, regulators and research organisations who play an important role in UK health and social care research came together in March 2022, working with members of the public, to sign up to a bold new shared commitment to improve public involvement in research . The statement was co-produced with members of the public, patients and service users. This shared commitment aims to address the gaps identified in leadership and communication by bringing patients and public contributors and leaders in health and social care together to set out the importance of public involvement in all health and social care research.

Read our news story of our new shared commitment to improve public involvement in research .

Attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care issues

As the nation’s largest funder of health and social care research training, NIHR provides career pathways for clinical academics and non-clinical scientists as well as opportunities for nurses, midwives, allied health and social care professionals to integrate research with clinical practice. Building the requisite research capacity and capability enables us to best respond to health and social care challenges.

NIHR launches Local Authority Short Placement Award for Research Collaboration

For the first time, NIHR is supporting individuals working in local authority settings to undertake short placements within the NIHR, as well as providing opportunities for eligible NIHR Academy Members to undertake short placements within a local authority setting. Announced in September 2021, the Local Authority Short Placement Award for Research Collaboration (LA SPARC) scheme allows individuals to develop skills and capabilities to co-create meaningful research that is better able to inform practice and policy. It is hoped that this engenders enhanced partnerships and collaborations between the NIHR and local authority settings, as well as providing useful career development opportunities for the individuals involved.

Read our news story on our local authority short placement award .

NIHR launches a UK-wide programme to develop future population health research leaders

In October 2021, the NIHR launched the NIHR Population Health Career Scientist Award (PHCSA), a UK-wide initiative to enable senior researchers to make the next step to Reader/Professor level in their host institutions. The  PHCSA forms part of a series of initiatives and investments by NIHR to enable local governments to become more research active. This new award will help answer the most important research questions facing decision-makers at local and national levels to improve health and reduce inequalities. Developing an understanding of how to tackle health inequalities and wider disadvantages is both a research and a policy imperative for this scheme.

Read our news story on our programme to develop population researchers .

Census reveals at least 7,469 research nurses and midwives across the UK and Ireland

There are at least 7,469 research nurses and midwives across the UK and Ireland working within all areas of healthcare, a  landmark new census initiated by a group of NIHR 70@70 Senior Nurse & Midwife Research Leaders revealed in February 2021. The census, incorporating responses from research nurses and midwives across all four UK nations and the Republic of Ireland, also revealed that nurses and midwives are working at every level in healthcare from Bands 5 – 9 in the UK, and from staff nurse to Directors of Nursing or Midwifery in the Republic of Ireland.

Read our news story on UK research nurses and midwives .

Feeling Safe therapy offers new hope for patients with psychosis

A clinical trial funded by the NIHR demonstrates the life-changing potential of a therapy for patients with psychosis , by supporting their return to everyday activities. The trial results, published in February 2022 in The Lancet Psychiatry , show that the new Feeling Safe programme is the most effective psychological treatment for persecutory delusions (unfounded, strong beliefs that other people intend to harm you). In the study, 50% of patients achieved significant benefits from the Feeling Safe programme, and a further 25% made moderate gains. This new therapy has the potential to transform quality of life, given the deep impact of persecutory delusions on health and wellbeing.

Read our news story on feeling safe therapy .

Study points to greater patient choice in broken ankle treatment the Journal of Clinical Investigation

A study funded by the NIHR has discovered little difference in the clinical effectiveness of two treatments for ankle fractures , the traditional cast and the removable brace. The researchers behind the Ankle Injury Rehabilitation (AIR) Trial at Warwick Clinical Trials Unit conclude therefore that the choice of treatment method should be down to cost and patient preference. The trial was led by one of our NIHR Career Development Fellow Professors, Rebecca Kearney ,  and the findings were published in July 2021 in The BMJ .

Read our news story on broken ankle treatment .

Premature birth could be predicted sooner with test for bacteria

Mothers at risk of premature birth  could be identified sooner in pregnancy than is currently possible by looking for specific bacteria and chemicals in their cervicovaginal fluid, a study led by researchers at King’s College London reported in August 2021. For the first time, this study found that a specific bacterium limits the risk of early premature birth, meaning babies born between 32 and 36 weeks, which the researchers hope will lead to new preventative therapies. The findings showed that risk of premature birth could be accurately identified much earlier in pregnancy than current tests allow, creating the opportunity for medical or surgical treatments that aren’t possible in late pregnancy. Dr Natasha Hezelgrave was part of the team carrying out this study, which formed part of Dr Hezelgrave’s NIHR Doctoral Fellowship . The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation .

Read our news story on predicting premature birth .

Collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry, to shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system

Working in partnership with the public sector, medical research charities and the life sciences industry, NIHR has helped create an integrated research system that both meets the needs of patients and the public and positions the UK as a globally attractive destination for high-quality clinical research.

NIHR partners with Diabetes UK to fund vital research into preventing complications in people with type 2 diabetes

In May 2021,  NIHR joined forces with Diabetes UK to fund a new £2.1 million project to prevent cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes who have had a diabetic foot ulcer. With funding from  NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research and Diabetes UK , Professor Kamlesh Khunti and his team at the University of Leicester are using health records to find out how many people with type 2 diabetes who also have a diabetic foot ulcer will go on to experience heart disease or stroke. The team are also exploring whether factors such as age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status or geographical location might put people at higher risk.

Read our news story on funding vital diabetes research .

New wave of AI technologies in £36 million funding boost

Thousands of patients are set to benefit from artificial intelligence (AI) technologies thanks to £36 million for new research, delivered in partnership with NHSX. Technology that can detect cancer and an app that provides AI mental health support are among 38 newly funded innovations to be tested across the health service to help speed up diagnosis and improve care.

Read our news story on our funding boost for AI technologies .

Strategic partnership to strengthen understanding of nutrition and cancer

Dietary factors play an important role in the prevention, development, treatment and survival of cancer. However, currently, there is a gap in the provision of cancer-related nutritional information for those who need it most. In October 2021, the leading charity World Cancer Research Fund and the NIHR Cancer and Nutrition Collaboration announced a strategic partnership focused on delivering consistent, credible information and training about the links between cancer and diet to a greater number of people, including health professionals, patients and those looking to reduce their risk of cancer.  

Read our news story on The NIHR Cancer and Nutrition Collaboration .

UK clinical research ecosystem continues to build on learnings from COVID-19 research

In December 2021, The UK Clinical Research Recovery, Resilience and Growth Programme (RRG)  published an update detailing key milestones achieved in the six  months since the publication of  “The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery” 2021/22 implementation plan. NIHR, one of the key delivery partners of the RRG Programme, has led and is contributing to several important pieces of work including: leading a managed approach to the recovery of the UK clinical research portfolio; creating more capabilities for the Be Part of Research website; and launching a new UK-wide professional accreditation scheme for Clinical Research Practitioners and an Associate Principal Investigator scheme.

Read our news story on building on learnings from COVID-19 research .

New study explores how pollutants indoors impact child health

Pollutants from wood-burning stoves, clothing, cleaning products and cooking can build up indoors, especially over winter, alongside outdoor pollution such as traffic fumes. In the UK, people spend on average 90% of their time indoors, so research in this area is key to understanding the connection between pollution and human health. To investigate this, NIHR announced in March 2022 that it is co-funding a major new study with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to discover how everyday pollutants impact the development and health of foetuses and children called RESPIRE. This will be the first to track how the function of different organs such as the lungs and brain are impacted by pollution in the home, work or other indoor places we visit.

Read our news story on indoor pollutants and child health .

Competition to develop new Clinician Researcher development programmes

In April 2021 NIHR, in partnership with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC), invited Higher Education Institutions to apply for funding to develop a Postgraduate Certificate focused on the practical elements of clinical research. This qualification forms part of the new NIHR-AoMRC Clinician Researcher Credentials Framework will provide clinicians with the necessary knowledge, skills and confidence to begin to contribute to, and develop towards leading, clinical research locally. The introduction of these credentials will increase the capacity for research across the workforce and enable the NHS to deliver high-quality clinical research in everyday clinical settings.

Read our news story on research development programmes .

Funding applied global health research and training, to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle-income countries

NIHR works closely with the global health research community, funding applied research and training to benefit the poorest people in more than 50 low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Sharing our learning and knowledge enables us to build research and development capacity and capability in both the UK and LMICs.

Life-changing research study led by African midwives is helping reduce stillbirths

Globally, 2 million stillbirths occur every year. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 64% of these, with women eight times more likely to experience a stillbirth than those in high-income countries like the UK. A life-changing four-year research programme, funded by the NIHR’s Global Health Research Programme, is helping to tackle the stillbirth crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. The NIHR Global Health Group on Stillbirth Prevention and Management in Sub-Saharan Africa , established in 2017, is the first programme of its kind aimed at reducing stillbirths. This midwife-led research partnership aims to address a critical lack of research around stillbirth, identify best practices, and support for families who endure stillbirths in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Read our news story on how research led by African midwives is reducing stillbirths .

UK and Canada team up to support youth mental health projects worldwide

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased mental health challenges worldwide, yet only 0.1% of global development assistance for health goes towards youth mental health. In April 2021, NIHR announced that it has teamed up with partners in the  Global Mental Health Program to launch the first cohort of 18 seed projects to address mental health literacy and provide youth-friendly services for under-served young people aged 10 to 24, in low and middle-income countries. The 18 innovative projects will enhance community-based mental health care for young people in 14 countries: India, Uganda, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Kenya, Colombia, Lebanon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Cameroon, Nigeria and Rwanda.

Read our news story on supporting youth mental health projects worldwide .

One-stop clinics for HIV, diabetes and hypertension care cut patient health costs in Africa

The burden of non-communicable diseases has risen rapidly in Africa. Integrating the care of HIV, diabetes, and hypertension into a ‘one-stop clinic’ can reduce the costs for both patients and healthcare services, according to a new  NIHR-funded global health research study published in September 2021 in BMC Medicine . The research team from the NIHR Global Health Research Group on prevention and management of non-communicable diseases and HIV-infection in Africa , (RESPOND-Africa consortium) led by The Liverpool School for Tropical Medicine with partners in Tanzania and Uganda, found that integrating these services with existing high-quality HIV care services has resulted in greatly improved patient outcomes and cost savings.

Read our news story on one-stop clinics in Africa .

One in seven cancer patients around the world have missed out on potentially life-saving operations during COVID-19 lockdowns

In April 2021,  a new study reported that planned cancer surgery was affected by lockdowns regardless of the local COVID-19 rates at that time, with patients in lower-income countries at the highest risk of missing their surgery. Data was analysed from the 15 most common solid cancer types in 20,000 patients across 466 hospitals in 61 countries. It found that patients awaiting surgery for more than six weeks during full lockdown were significantly less likely to have their planned cancer surgery. Frail patients, those with advanced cancer, and those waiting for surgery in low and middle-income countries were all less likely to have the cancer operation they urgently needed. The study was funded by the NIHR Global Health Research Programme and published in The Lancet Oncology .

Read our news story on cancer patients missing life-saving operations due to COVID-19 lockdowns .

New research could help boost the growth of clean cooking in sub-Saharan Africa

NIHR-funded researchers from the  NIHR CLEAN-Air (Africa) Global Health Research Group based at the University of Liverpool have produced new evidence that could help rapidly boost efforts to scale up the  adoption of clean cooking with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in sub-Saharan Africa. Published in November 2021 in Nature Energy , this new study suggests that supply-side interventions such as shortening the distance to LPG retail points and improving access to multi-burner LPG stoves could help increase the consumption of clean cooking fuels compared to higher polluting fuels such as charcoal and firewood, for the benefit of public health, gender equality and environmental protection.

Read our news story on research helping the adoption of clean cooking in Africa .

£19.3 million announced to fund global health research into multiple long-term conditions

In November 2021, NIHR awarded nearly £20 million through its global health funding programme to help tackle multiple long-term conditions . The awards, made through the NIHR's Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme , will be shared between four projects that will examine clusters of chronic conditions that represent a significant disease burden in low and middle-income countries. Research will take place in Pakistan and sub-Saharan Africa. These chronic conditions can particularly affect children and adolescents in these countries due to the effects of poverty, hunger and infectious diseases. 

Read our news story on new Global Health Research funding for multiple long-term conditions .

Financial summary - 2021/22

NIHR spend increased by around 8% in 2021/22 from 2020/21, largely due to additional funding secured at the Spending Review in 2020. This allowed NIHR to make additional investments in faculty, programmes and infrastructure, as well as investing over £10m in a cross-NIHR digital strategy.

NIHR continued to invest heavily in research into COVID-19, with £92m spent on a range of studies, many in partnership with UKRI.

The Vaccines Task Force continued to support NIHR research into COVID-19, providing over £45m of additional budget.

 Total NIHR spend excluding Official Development Assistance (£m) £1,259.4

Total NIHR spend including Official Development Assistance (£m) £1,324.4

Please note the figures in the financial summary are provisional and are unaudited

View a  PDF of the annual report

To help us give you the best experience possible, please accept all cookies

Customise cookies

Annual reports

Annual reports content, our latest annual report.

The latest annual report and consolidated financial statements from Yorkshire's independent cancer charity

All annual reports

Yorkshire Cancer Research Annual Report and Financial Statement

Information about our use of cookies

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.

A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.

Strictly necessary cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website, use a shopping cart or make use of e-billing services.

See strictly necessary cookies

Analytical or performance cookies

These allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.

See analytical or performance cookies

Targeting cookies

These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests. [We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.]

See targeting cookies

Home - About us - Who we are - Annual reviews - Impact Report 2020-2021

Impact Report 2020-2021

Welcome to our impact report, giving you a sense of what world cancer research fund achieved during 2020-2021..

Download our Impact Report infographic (PDF 4MB)

Our challenge

• 40% of cancer cases could be prevented
• That’s 147,000 every year who develop a preventable cancer in the UK
• 2 in 3 people diagnosed with cancer tell us they don’t receive any nutrition or physical activity support
• Globally, new cancer cases are predicted to increase by over 60% in the next 20 years to 29.4m cases a year by 2040
• 1 in 2 of us will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime

What we achieved

• 19 research grants were awarded, totalling £4.4million*
• 26,869 Health Information resources ordered or downloaded (including health guides, recipe books and posters)
• 2,045 health professionals signed up to one of our specialist webinar and e-Learning courses
• 303 patients, carers and family members attended one of our tailored cookery classes or support groups
• 15,962 donors (individuals, companies, trusts) supported us during the year, helping to raise £10.8million**
• 5,732 calls to our supporter services line

Latest updates

Subscribe to our email newsletter

*funds raised by WCRF in the UK and WKOF in the Netherlands **the above figure may be updated once our Trustees’ Report and financial statements have been approved

RELATED CONTENT

• Directors and Trustees
• Our values and core beliefs
• Annual reviews
• Our partnerships
• Our network
• Feedback and complaints
• Clubbercise founder Claire on life after bowel cancer
• Honouring Mum in beautiful Kew: why I ran a 10k for cancer prevention
• In sickness and in health: Ken, Shirley and cancer
• Why World Cancer Research Fund means so much to Joan
• Sign up to our email newsletter
• Media centre
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
• Privacy Notice
• Cookies policy
• Linking policy

Together we are beating cancer

• Cancer types
• Breast cancer
• Bowel cancer
• Lung cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Cancers in general
• Clinical trials
• Causes of cancer
• Coping with cancer
• Managing symptoms and side effects
• Mental health and cancer
• Money and travel
• Death and dying
• Cancer Chat forum
• Health Professionals
• Cancer Statistics
• Cancer Screening
• Learning and Support
• NICE suspected cancer referral guidelines
• Make a donation
• By cancer type
• Leave a legacy gift
• Donate in Memory
• Find an event
• Race for Life
• Charity runs
• Charity walks
• Search events
• Relay for Life
• Volunteer in our shops
• Help at an event
• Help us raise money
• Campaign for us
• Do your own fundraising
• Fundraising ideas
• Get a fundraising pack
• Return fundraising money
• Fundraise by cancer type
• Set up a Cancer Research UK Giving Page
• Find a shop or superstore
• Become a partner
• Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People
• Our Play Your Part campaign
• Brain tumours
• Skin cancer
• All cancer types
• By cancer topic
• New treatments
• Cancer biology
• Cancer drugs
• All cancer subjects
• All locations
• By Researcher
• Professor Duncan Baird
• Professor Fran Balkwill
• Professor Andrew Biankin
• See all researchers
• Our achievements timeline
• Our research strategy
• Involving animals in research
• Research opportunities
• For discovery researchers
• For clinical researchers
• For population researchers
• In drug discovery & development
• In early detection & diagnosis
• For students & postdocs
• Our funding schemes
• Career Development Fellowship
• Discovery Programme Awards
• Clinical Trial Award
• Biology to Prevention Award
• View all schemes and deadlines
• Applying for funding
• Start your application online
• How to make a successful applicant
• Funding committees
• Successful applicant case studies
• How we deliver research
• Our research infrastructure
• Events and conferences
• Our research partnerships
• Facts & figures about our funding
• Develop your research career
• Recently funded awards
• Manage your research grant
• Notify us of new publications
• Find a shop
• Volunteer in a shop
• Donate goods to a shop
• Our superstores
• Shop online
• Wedding favours
• Cancer Care
• Flower Shop
• Our eBay store
• Shoes and boots
• Bags and purses
• We beat cancer
• We fundraise
• We develop policy
• Our global role
• Our organisation
• Our strategy
• Our Trustees
• CEO and Executive Board
• How we spend your money
• Early careers
• Your development

Cancer News

• For Researchers
• For Supporters
• Press office
• Publications
• Update your contact preferences
• About cancer
• Get involved
• Our research
• Funding for researchers

The latest news, analysis and opinion from Cancer Research UK

• Science & Technology
• Health & Medicine
• Personal Stories
• Policy & Insight
• Charity News

What the Budget 2021 means for research

29 October 2021

The Comprehensive Spending Review has set out the Government’s spending plans for the next three years, including a boost in health research investment. But what do these plans mean for our research community and its work?

In his speech, the Chancellor stressed the importance of research and innovation, including the life sciences, and his announcements appear broadly positive for health research.

Rishi Sunak announced the Government would spend £20bn on R&D by 2024-25 and £22bn by 2026-27 – delaying the original target by two years. Whilst this delay is disappointing, year-on-year increases to R&D funding are still provided at a time when public spending is under increased scrutiny.

Boost for health research

This investment includes £5bn for health research, rising to £2bn a year by 2024-25, which represents £1.2bn of new spending between now and 2025. Not all of this funding has been allocated yet and most of this uplift occurs in the final year (2024/25) – we will engage with the Government on those decisions – but we do know it provides:

• £95m for the Office for Life Sciences to deliver the Government’s  Life Sciences Vision , including its commitments to cancer.
• £30m for the National Institute for Health Research to invest in research skills and training for underrepresented groups, including nurses, midwives, and allied health professions.
• Support for UK genomics, including programmes to screen for rare diseases and improve representation and inclusion in genomics research.

In our recommendations to the Treasury we asked for increased funding for clinical research. If this additional investment is spent effectively, then it could provide much-needed support for cancer researchers and help deliver recommendations made in our Creating Time for Research report.

Investment in R&D

Alongside the boost in health research investment, the Chancellor also announced that:

• Core research funding for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy would not change from last year’s budget. However, the department will receive an additional £100m in 2024-25, for a total of £5.9bn.
• The high-risk, high-reward Advanced Research and Invention Agency remains on track to launch in 2025-26 – though no additional funding was announced.
• Innovate UK’s annual budget will increase to £1.1bn by 2024-25, up from £0.7bn in 2021-22.

Support for international research

Finally, the Chancellor made several commitments to international research:

• The full cost of associating to Horizon Europe will be met, though formal association has yet to be finalised – this spending is included in the overall R&D spending plans described above.
• Overseas Development Aid (ODA) spending on R&D will increase to £1bn by 2024-25, up from £0.6bn in 2021-22. This increase follows the Government’s decision to reverse the planned cuts to ODA and may present opportunities for cancer-related research abroad.
• To bring high-skilled talent to the UK’s science and technology sectors, the Government will launch a Global Talent Network in the United States and India in 2022 – although no specific spending for this has been announced yet.

Oliver Buckley-Mellor is a policy advisor at Cancer Research UK

Highlighted content

An animal's guide to staying safe in the sun, hpv vaccine slashes cervical cancer rates across society, the ‘mystery’ culprit causing kidney cancer worldwide, proteins in blood could give cancer warning seven years earlier, are ultra-processed foods linked to cancer, following cupid’s arrow: a new blood test to find cancer of unknown primary, making cancer screening work for you, can vaping cause changes in our cells, that cancer conversation podcast - one to one with dr anisha patel, related topics.

• Cancer Research UK-funded research
• Research policy

• Prevention Hub
• Are you susceptible?
• The biology of breast cancer
• Facts, figures and Q & As
• Resource for transgender people
• Check your breasts
• Alcohol, diet and weight
• Being active and exercising
• Chemicals and our environment
• Life stages
• Breast cancer in men
• Current research
• Past research
• For researchers
• Meet the scientists
• Breast Cancer Prevention Conference
• Make a donation
• Donate in memory
• Campaign with us
• Partner With Us
• School fundraising
• Work for us
• Media and press

Annual report 2020 – 2021

25 January, 2023 | Size: 718.20 KB |

• Corporate Documents

Related Articles

15 April 2024

Green smoothie

This smoothie is the lean, green nutrition machine that you’ve been searching for. With this blended harmony of crunchy apples, ripe bananas, and earthy carrots, you'll be able to reach...

12 April 2024

Can I exercise during pregnancy?

Although not everyone will experience what it’s like to be pregnant, all of us will feel its impact. This comes in the form of being a carrier of an unborn...

11 April 2024

Friends take on Lisbon marathon to support beloved mum

"I know what my mother went through with chemo and radiotherapy and how amazing the doctors and nurses were with her. So, I wanted to do something for her and...

• Fundraising story

Honey almond granola

This honey almond granola is delicious and exceptionally easy to prepare. Perfect for breakfast or a quick snack. Serves: 10  Preparation time: 20 minutes  If you can, use organic ingredients...

Stay in touch

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest BCUK news & updates

• First Name *
• Last Name *

• Privacy Overview
• Strictly Necessary Cookies
• 3rd Party Cookies

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

• Our Leadership
• Our researchers
• Publications
• Public Involvement
• Collaborative Groups
• Resources for Early Career Researchers in Wales
• Wales Cancer Bioinformatics Network

Catch up with our Annual Stakeholder Report 2021

• December 10, 2021 April 8, 2022

This month, the Wales Cancer Research Centre released its 2020-2021 Annual Stakeholder Report.

The past year has been difficult for everyone, and presented new, unprecedented challenges to the cancer research landscape in Wales. Coronavirus has had a huge impact on our work, and it will be some time until we’re back to business as usual.

However, our incredible teams of researchers adapted to the crisis and pressed on with their vital work. Some, like Professor Alan Parker’s team, were seconded to work on vaccine development, using their specific skillsets to meet the global challenge. Our laboratories remained open with limited staff on site, and many researchers were able to continue their projects at home.

We’ve forged new connections and strengthened existing relationships through online events, groups, and meetings. These will stand us in good stead as we move forward into our seventh year.

Thanks to the dedication of our researchers and partners across Wales and beyond, we’ve been able to carry on performing and supporting cancer research of the highest quality.

Read the report here .

Cookies on GOV.UK

We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.

We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

You have accepted additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

You have rejected additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.

• Business and industry
• Science and innovation
• Research and development

Bioscience and health technology sector statistics 2021 to 2022

• Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
• Department of Health & Social Care
• Office for Life Sciences

Updated 8 May 2024

© Crown copyright 2024

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected] .

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/bioscience-and-health-technology-sector-statistics-2021-to-2022/bioscience-and-health-technology-sector-statistics-2021-to-2022

Main points

The number of life sciences businesses operating in the UK has increased gradually since the 2008/09 financial year (when data collation began), reaching a total of 6,850 in 2021/22. These businesses had a total of 7,910 sites in the UK, a 1% increase compared to 2020/21.

There were 304,200 people employed in the UK life sciences sector in 2021/22, a relative increase of 5% compared to 2020/21. Aside from a small decrease in 2018/19, employment in life sciences in the UK has seen a continuous upward trend between 2011/12 and 2021/22.

Businesses in the UK life sciences industry generated £108.1 billion in turnover in 2021/22, a 13% increase from the turnover value of £95.9 billion (in 2021/22 prices) in 2020/21. Turnover has seen an upward trend since 2014/15, with the largest annual increase (in both absolute and relative terms) occurring between 2020/21 and 2021/22.

There are 4 sectors operating within the life sciences industry (biopharmaceutical core, biopharmaceutical service and supply, medical technology core and medical technology service and supply). The sector with the highest proportion of sites and employment was the medical technology core sector, accounting for 44% of sites and 39% of employment in 2021/22. This sector has continuously accounted for the highest proportion of sites and employment between 2008/09 and 2021/22.

The sector that generated the highest turnover in 2021/22 was the biopharmaceutical core sector, accounting for 43% of the total turnover generated across the life sciences industry. This was followed by the biopharmaceutical service and supply sector and medical technology core sector which each accounted for a share of 25% of turnover in 2021/22.

The South East continues to be the UK region with the highest share of both life sciences industry employment and turnover, accounting for 23% of total employment and 30% of total turnover in 2021/22.

The most recent data in the report covers the period during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies in the life sciences industry saw sharp increases in employment and turnover during the period between 2019/20 and 2020/21. The increases seen in these fields cannot be directly or wholly associated with the COVID-19 pandemic as companies also continued to carry out life sciences activity focusing on other areas during the pandemic.

Introduction

This report contains analysis of trends in the UK life sciences industry, covering the biopharmaceutical and medical technology principal sectors. The data does not include industrial biotechnology, animal health, not-for-profit organisations, public-funded institutions or universities. The three main measures of economic contribution and industry structure contained in this report are:

employment - the number of people employed by life sciences businesses. This number is scaled based on the proportion of each business’s activities that are relevant to the life sciences industry

turnover - the amount of money taken by life sciences businesses. This value is scaled based on the proportion of each business’s activities that are relevant to the life sciences industry

number of businesses and their sites – the number of life sciences businesses and their sites registered in the UK

The analysis in this report covers the economic activity of businesses that focus on the discovery, development and marketing of new therapies and medical devices, referred to as ‘core’ businesses, as well as businesses operating in the specialist service and supply chains that are key parts of the ecosystem. A segmentation approach is applied that enables a detailed analysis of the product and service categories that make up the industry.

The ( BaHTSS ) series publishes data just under 2 years in arrears and this iteration of the report (covering data up to and including the end of the 2021 to 2022 financial year) was initially published on 7 December 2023. The data in this report is aggregated in terms of financial years. More information on the data and methods used in this report can be found in the accompanying background quality and user guide.

This report is also accompanied by:

• Bioscience and health technology sector statistics 2021 to 2022: accompanying data tables - a set of accompanying excel data tables providing the figures used in this report, as well as further aggregations of the data for users.
• Bioscience and health technology sector statistics 2021 to 2022: figures behind the charts - in order to ensure the images used in this report are also available in an accessible format, the figures used in the charts have been made available in these tables
• Bioscience and health technology sector statistics 2021 to 2022: life sciences sites – a dataset displaying classifications and other details relating to each individual site included in the publication in 2021/22. Employment and turnover figures are masked to avoid disclosure of individual site values.

Publication updates

New additions.

This report includes analysis of regional growth rates and analysis of segment growth for the first time.

The coverage for data on business size has been improved from the previous publication. In this report, ‘business size’ refers to the classification of a company as either a small and medium-sized enterprise ( SME ) or non- SME . Data relating to the years between 2017/18 and 2021/22 is now available in this report and associated documents, for the first time. This also has allowed for more granular classification of business size for SMEs in the publication, as defined by the European Union standard definition of small and medium-sized enterprises. Businesses classed as SMEs are now disaggregated into the 3 company categories outlined in the EU standard definition (medium, small and micro).

Similarly, time series data on whether a site is owned by a UK or overseas registered company is now available from 2017/18 to 2021/22, although it should be noted that this data is not available for a substantial proportion (29% in 2021/22) of sites.

Methodology changes

Several changes have been made to the methodology behind the statistics this year, including:

a change in the reporting periods used. In this year’s publication the data has been captured in financial years (instead of calendar years), and the reporting periods have been labelled in a YYYY/YY format. Previous publications up to and including the Bioscience and health technology sector statistics 2018 release aggregated data by calendar year. Each publication since has aggregated data by financial year, but the data was labelled with the calendar year that the financial year ends in (for example, the Bioscience and health technology sector statistics 2021 report related to data up to and including the year 2020/21). In this report, data is labelled consistently with the period it relates to. Financial year deflators have been used to adjust all turnover values into 2021/22 prices.

further research was conducted to identify businesses which have substantial levels of activity in the field of genomics. This has resulted in more businesses being tagged with the genomics classification codes. All figures in this report include a backdated timeseries to cover these businesses.

it is recommended to always use the most recently available report in the BaHTSS series. More details on these changes can be found in the accompanying background quality and user guide.

Revision notices

Further work has been carried out to adjust past data in the time series into financial years as opposed to calendar years. The employment and turnover figures for each site have been recalculated based on the reported employment/turnover for that site in each financial year, and financial year deflators have been used to put all turnover values in 2021/22 prices.

Combined with the usual revisions that take place each year, this has resulted in the total turnover for each year between 2008/09 and 2020/21 being revised by between 2% and 7%. Over the same period, employment numbers have been revised by between -1% and 2%.

Additional businesses were identified as having substantial levels of activity in the field of genomics this year. Figures on genomics activity relating to past years have been backdated and revised accordingly. This has resulted in the number of sites involved in genomics activity being revised upwards each year between 2008/09 and 2021/22. Combined with the usual revisions that take place each year, the number of sites has been revised upwards between a range of 25% and 55% compared to the previous report. The associated employment and turnover with these sites has also been revised upwards over the same period. The employment revisions for each year range between 16% and 33% and for turnover the range is 4% and 37%.

Trends in the shape and size of the life sciences industry

In 2021/22, there were 6,850 businesses operating in the UK life sciences industry over 7,910 sites. These businesses employed 304,200 people and generated £108.1 billion of turnover.

The number of businesses and the number of sites across these businesses have both seen an upward trend since 2008/09, with 29% more businesses and 37% more sites operating in 2021/22 compared to 2008/09. The largest annual increases (in both absolute and relative terms) occurred between 2016/17 and 2017/18, with the number of sites increasing by 460 and the number of businesses increasing by 390. In the following year, the number of sites and businesses decreased slightly, but subsequently have both increased every year since 2018/19.

Figure 1: number of businesses and sites in the UK life sciences industry

Figure 1: number of businesses and sites in the UK life sciences industry.

Note: the y-axis does not begin at 0.

Similarly, employment in the life sciences industry has seen an overall upward trend between 2008/09 and 2021/22. Employment has seen a sharper increase since 2018/19, rising from 263,700 in 2018/19 to 304,200 in 2021/22 - an increase of 15%. Over the 14 years since data collection began, there have been only 2 occasions when life sciences employment decreased. The largest of these decreases was seen between 2010/11 and 2011/12, when employment decreased by 4,600 (or 2%).

Figure 2: employment in the UK life sciences industry

Figure 2: employment in the UK life sciences industry.

Turnover generated by the life sciences industry, adjusted for inflation and based on 2021/22 prices, increased each year between 2014/15 and 2021/22. This was preceded by a period of 4 years (between 2010/11 and 2014/15) during which turnover followed an overall declining trend. Similar to trends seen in life sciences employment, turnover has also seen a sharper increase in recent years. The highest year-on-year increase in turnover, both in monetary and percentage terms, occurred between 2020/21 and 2021/22 with turnover increasing by £12.3 billion (an increase of 13%).

The sharp increase between 2020/21 and 2021/22 occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic which will have partially influenced some companies’ turnover. However, it is not possible in this data to disaggregate what proportion of this increase was influenced by the pandemic.

Figure 3: turnover generated by the UK life sciences industry

Figure 3: turnover generated by the UK life sciences industry.

Life sciences industry by sector

Businesses and sites by sector.

Some businesses may have multiple sites that operate in different sectors of the life sciences industry. In this analysis, these businesses will be included in each of the business counts for the sectors their sites operate in. This means that the sum of the sector business counts will be greater than the total number of businesses across the life sciences industry as a whole. More information on businesses operating over multiple sectors can be found in the accompanying background quality and user guide.

In 2021/22, there were 4,550 sites operating in the core sector, which accounted for 57% of total life sciences sites. Of these core sites, 1,080 were in the biopharmaceutical sector and 3,460 were in the medical technology sector. Core biopharmaceutical sites accounted for 14% of all life sciences sites in 2021/22, whilst medical technology core sites accounted for 44%.

In 2021/22, there were a further 3,370 sites which specialised in the UK-based service and supply sector (businesses that offer services to core biopharmaceutical and medical technology sites), which accounted for 43% of life sciences sites. Of these service and supply sites, 1,920 were in the biopharmaceutical sector and 1,440 were in the medical technology sector. The biopharmaceutical service and supply sector accounted for 24% of all life sciences sites in 2021/22 whilst medical technology service and supply sites accounted for 18%.

All 4 sectors in the industry have seen an upward trend in the number of sites between 2008/09 and 2021/22. The biopharmaceutical sectors have experienced a steeper increase compared to the medical technology sectors. Although the core medical technology sector has consistently had the highest number of sites each year since data collection began in 2008/09, this increase in the number of biopharmaceutical sites has meant that the overall share of sites operating in the core medical technology sector has decreased from 49% in 2008/09 to 44% in 2021/22.

Between 2020/21 and 2021/22, the core biopharmaceutical sector and the biopharmaceutical service and supply sector both saw increases in the number of sites, with increases of 50 sites (or 5%) and 30 sites (or 2%) respectively. The 2 medical technology sectors both saw decreases in the number of sites between 2020/21 and 2021/22, the largest of which was seen in the medical technology service and supply sector (where there was a decrease of 30 sites, or 2%).

Figure 4: number of UK life sciences sites by sector

Figure 4: number of UK life sciences sites by sector.

Industry employment by sector

Employment in businesses operating in the 2 core sectors was 187,200 in 2021/22, which accounted for 62% of all life sciences employment. Almost two thirds (117,200 people) of this total for core businesses were employed in the medical technology core sector, compared to 70,000 in the core biopharmaceutical sector.

In 2021/22, 116,900 people were employed in businesses operating in the UK based service and supply sector, which accounted for 38% of people employed in the life sciences industry. In contrast to core businesses, most of the employment for service and supply businesses was within the biopharmaceutical sector, which accounted for 80,000 (around two thirds) of the total 116,900 employed in the service and supply sectors in 2021/22.

The sector with the highest employment out of the four sectors was the core medical technology sector, which accounted for 39% of employment in the life sciences industry in 2021/22. This has consistently been the sector with the highest share of employment since 2008/09 and its share of total life sciences industry employment has stayed broadly consistent over time.

Employment in all 4 sectors increased between 2020/21 and 2021/22. The largest of these increases (both in absolute and relative terms) occurred in the biopharmaceutical service and supply sector, where employment increased by 7,100, or 10%. Employment in the biopharmaceutical service and supply sector has increased substantially in recent years, and as a result the sector surpassed the core biopharmaceuticals sector in 2019/20 to become the second largest sector in terms of employment.

Figure 5: UK life sciences employment by sector

Figure 5: UK life sciences employment by sector.

Industry turnover by sector

Turnover values in this publication are reported in 2021/22 prices, using GDP deflators to adjust for inflation.

The core biopharmaceutical sector generated £46.7 billion in turnover in 2021/22, accounting for 43% of the life sciences industry total. In terms of turnover, this sector has consistently been the largest of the 4 sectors every year since data collection began in 2008/09. Turnover generated by the core biopharmaceutical sector reached £44.2 billion in 2010/11, after which turnover broadly followed a decreasing trend until it reached its lowest value at £35.1 billion in 2016/17. Five consecutive years of growth since then meant that core biopharmaceutical sector turnover reached its highest value in 2021/22, surpassing the previous peak in 2010/11 for the first time.

Each of the four life sciences sectors saw increases in turnover between 2020/21 and 2021/22, the largest (in absolute terms) of which were seen in the core biopharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical service and supply sectors, whose turnover values increased by £5.0 billion (an increase of 12%) and £3.7 billion (an increase of 15%) respectively.

The two core sectors have historically contributed the majority of the life sciences industry turnover, although the overall proportion of life sciences industry turnover being generated by the two core sectors has decreased over time, from 77% in 2008/09 to 68% in 2021/22.

Recent growth in the biopharmaceutical service and supply sector has resulted in this sector slightly surpassing the core medical technology sector for the first time in 2021/22 to become the sector generating the second highest turnover out of the 4 sectors.

Figure 6: turnover generated by the UK life sciences industry by sector

Figure 6: turnover generated by the UK life sciences industry by sector.

Variation across the UK

Uk life sciences industry employment.

The South East had the highest employment of all regions in the UK at 71,300 in 2021/22, accounting for 23% of all employment in the industry. The share of industry employment based in the South East has declined slightly from 25% in 2008/09. Despite this, the South East consistently had the highest share of employment of all regions between 2008/09 and 2021/22. Life sciences employment in the South East increased steadily between 2013/14 and 2021/22, from 55,400 in 2013/14 to 71,300 in 2021/22 (an increase of 29%). The second highest region in terms of life sciences industry employment in 2021/22 was the East of England, which accounted for 43,900 (or 14%) of total employment. Employment in this region increased by 11% between 2020/21 and 2021/22, and life sciences employment in the East of England in 2021/22 was at its highest since data collection began in 2008/09.

In 2021/22, 11% of life sciences industry employment was based in London. Employment in this region has generally followed an upward trend over time, from 19,400 (which was equivalent to 9% of the total industry employment) in 2008/09 to 34,800 in 2021/22. This increase in life sciences employment meant that London became the UK region with the third highest employment in 2019/20 and has remained third up to 2021/22.

Life sciences industry employment has generally followed an upward trend over time but increased more sharply between 2018/19 and 2021/22, with each individual region seeing an increase in employment over this time period. London saw the largest increase in both absolute and relative terms between 2018/19 and 2021/22, with an increase of 7,800, or 29%. All regions had higher employment in 2021/22 compared to 2008/09, with the largest net increases seen in London, the South East and the East of England.

Figure 7: distribution of employment in the UK life sciences industry by region in 2021/22

Figure 7: distribution of employment in the UK life sciences industry by region in 2021 to 2022.

The local authority district with the highest life sciences employment in 2021/22 was South Cambridgeshire, in the East of England region, with 10,100 employees. The local authority districts of South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge (the fourth highest district for life sciences employment in the UK, and the second highest district in the East of England) combined accounted for 38% of the total life sciences employment in the East of England, and 6% of the total life sciences employment across the UK.

The local authority districts with the second and third highest life sciences employment in 2021/22 were Cheshire East (in the North West ITL1 region) and the Vale of the White Horse (in the South East), with 8,900 and 7,100 employees respectively.

Figure 8: distribution of employment in the UK life sciences industry by local authority district in 2021/22

Figure 8: distribution of employment in the UK life sciences industry by local authority district in 2021 to 2022.

Note: the local authority districts (LADs) presented in figure 8 represent the LAD boundaries as of December 2022, with LADs being assigned to sites using a method which ensures geographic consistency across all official statistics. However, this means that the boundary changes which took place in 2023 have not been reflected in this analysis - please see section 2.7 of the accompanying background quality and methodology note for more details.

Biopharmaceutical employment

The South East had the highest employment of all regions in the biopharmaceutical sector at 35,600 in 2021/22, which accounted for 24% of all employment in the biopharmaceutical sector. There were 36,300 people employed in the biopharmaceutical sector in the South East in 2008/09 but employment decreased substantially in the following years, reaching 30,400 in 2013/14. Between 2013/14 and 2021/22, biopharmaceutical sector employment in this region recovered to similar levels to that seen in 2008/09.

The East of England was the UK region with the next highest share of biopharmaceutical employment in 2021/22, accounting for 19% (or 29,100) of the total. Biopharmaceutical employment in the East of England has broadly followed an upwards trend from 2008/09 with the exception of a slight decline in 2017/18 and 2018/19. Since 2018/19 employment has increased sharply by 5,800 or 25%.

Employment within the biopharmaceutical sector in London reached 20,700 in 2021/22, accounting for 14% of all biopharmaceutical employment. Employment in this region saw a modest increase of 100 between 2020/21 and 2021/22, following a much more substantial increase of 3,400 (or 20%) between 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Across the entire time period from 2008/09 to 2021/22, the largest regional net increases in biopharmaceutical employment were seen in the East of England, whose employment increased by 8,800 (a percentage increase of 44%), and London, whose employment increased by 7,500 (or 56%). The South East was the only region whose employment was lower in 2021/22 compared to 2008/09, from 36,300 in 2008/09 to 35,600 in 2021/22.

Yorkshire and the Humber saw the highest relative increase over the same period, with employment rising from 3,600 in 2008/09 to 7,100 in 2021/22, an increase of 95%. Despite this, the region continued to account for a relatively small proportion, 5%, of all biopharmaceutical employment in the industry in 2021/22.

Medical technology employment

Similar to the biopharmaceutical sector, in 2021/22 the South East had the highest share of employment in the medical technology sector  with employment of 35,700, accounting for 23% of the sector total.

Yorkshire and the Humber was the region with the second highest share of employment in the medical technology sector in 2021/22, accounting for 14,800 (10%) of the sector total. This region was followed closely by the East of England and the North West, where 14,700 people (10% of the sector total) were employed in the medical technology sector in each region in 2021/22.

The South East saw the largest net increase in medical technology employment between 2008/09 and 2021/22, from 22,300 in 2008/09 to 35,700 in 2021/22 (an increase of 14,400). Over the same time period, London saw the largest percentage increase in the medical technology sector, with employment increasing by 131% from 6,100 to 14,100 between 2008/09 and 2021/22. Both regions have seen steady upward trends over the period.

UK life sciences industry turnover

Similar to employment, the South East was the UK region which generated the highest share of life sciences industry turnover, at 30% (or £32.4 billion) in 2021/22. This was substantially higher than that of the region with the second highest turnover generated (the East of England), whose turnover was valued at £19.7 billion (18% of turnover generated by the industry). The South East has consistently generated the highest turnover of all regions, and, in contrast to employment, its share of total industry turnover has increased over time from 26% in 2008/09 to 30% in 2021/22.

In 2021/22, the East of England also accounted for a high proportion of industry turnover (£19.7 billion, or 18%), making it the region which generated the second highest turnover behind the South East.

The North West and London generated £13.4 billion and £11.6 billion turnover in 2021/22, accounting for 12% and 11% of the life sciences industry total respectively. These two regions followed the East of England as the third and fourth highest regions in terms of the value of turnover generated in 2021/22.

Turnover increased across all regions between 2020/21 and 2021/22. The largest increase (in both absolute and relative terms) over this period was seen in the East of England, where turnover increased by £4.6 billion, or 30%. The South East also saw a large increase in the value of turnover between 2020/21 to 2021/22, from £29.4 billion to £32.4 billion (a 10% increase).

Figure 9: distribution of turnover generated by the UK life sciences industry by region in 2021/22

Figure 9: distribution of turnover generated by the UK life sciences industry by region in 2021 to 2022.

The local authority district which generated the largest amount of turnover within the life sciences industry in 2021/22 was the Vale of the White Horse, with £6.5 billion in turnover. This accounted for 20% of the life sciences turnover generated in the South East, and 6% of the total UK life sciences turnover in 2021/22. The next highest district in terms of turnover was Cheshire East (in the North West), where £6.3 billion in turnover was generated in 2021/22.

The third and fourth highest local authority districts in terms of life sciences turnover in 2021/22 were South Cambridgeshire (with £5.3 billion in turnover) and Cambridge (with £4.2 billion in turnover). In 2021/22, these two districts combined accounted for 48% of the life sciences turnover generated in the East of England, and 9% of the total life sciences turnover across the UK.

Figure 10: distribution of turnover in the UK life sciences industry by local authority district in 2021/22.

Figure 10: distribution of turnover in the UK life sciences industry by local authority district in 2021 to 2022.

Note: the local authority districts (LADs) presented in figure 10 represent the LAD boundaries as of December 2022, with LADs being assigned to sites using a method which ensures geographic consistency across all official statistics. However, this means that the boundary changes which took place in 2023 have not been reflected in this analysis - please see section 2.7 of the accompanying background quality and methodology note for more details.

Biopharmaceutical turnover

In 2021/22, the UK region with the highest turnover generated by sites operating in the biopharmaceutical sector was the South East, accounting for 30%, or £22.4 billion, of the biopharmaceutical sector total. The share of total biopharmaceutical sector turnover generated in this region has increased over time from 27% in 2008/09.

The South East has been the UK region with the highest value of turnover generated in the biopharmaceutical sector every year since data collection began in 2008/09. During this time period, the South East’s biopharmaceutical turnover was at its lowest (£13.4 billion) in 2014/15, after which the region experienced continuous  increases year-on-year, reaching the highest annual turnover value of the period in 2021/22.

Between 2008/09 and 2021/22, the East of England was the second highest region in terms of biopharmaceutical turnover every year except 2014/15, when the North West’s turnover exceeded the East of England’s. Turnover generated in the East of England increased year-on-year between 2015/16 and 2021/22 and reached £16.1 billion in 2021/22 (the highest value seen since data collection began in 2008/09). This resulted in the East of England accounting for 22% of biopharmaceutical turnover in 2021/22. Turnover generated in the biopharmaceutical sector in the North West declined between 2016/17 and 2018/19 but subsequently saw three consecutive years of growth, with this region reaching its highest turnover value (£10.1 billion) in 2021/22.

All regions except for London and the North East, where there was a small decline of 5% and 1% respectively, saw increases in turnover from the biopharmaceutical sector between 2020/21 and 2021/22. The most substantial of these increases was seen in the East of England with an increase of £4.3 billion over the period (a rise of 37%).

Medical technology turnover

In 2021/22, the UK region with the highest turnover generated by sites operating in the medical technology sector was the South East, accounting for 29%, or £10.0 billion, of the medical technology sector total.

The South East has consistently been the highest UK region in terms of medical technology turnover every year since data collection began in 2008/09. The value of medical technology turnover in the South East grew modestly between 2008/09 and 2015/16, after which turnover increased at a faster rate, from £7.0 billion in 2015/16 to £10.0 billion in 2021/22. The value of medical technology turnover in the South East was consistently between 2-3 times higher that of the second highest region, the East of England, every year between 2013/14 and 2021/22.

The East of England generated the second highest turnover of all regions for the medical technology sector at  £3.7 billion in 2021/22, which was an increase of 7% (or £0.2 billion) from the previous year but was still lower than the 2008/09 turnover value for this region (£4.1 billion, the highest value in the data collection period).

The next highest regions in terms of turnover generated by sites operating in the medical technology sector in 2021/22 were the North West and London, each accounting for £3.2 billion (a 9% share) of the total medical technology sector turnover.

All regions except for East Midlands, where there was a small decline of 1%, saw notable increases in turnover from the medical technology sector between 2020/21 and 2021/22.

UK regional growth rates

Growth rates for the regions of the UK in this section are calculated using compound annual growth rates ( CAGR ) between the periods 2016/17 to 2021/22. The CAGR describes the smoothed rate at which employment/turnover and the number of sites grew each year between a start period and an end period. It represents the constant, annual rate of change required for the initial value (relating to the value in 2016/17 in this case) to become the end value (the value in 2021/22). In reality, the rate of change for employment/turnover and the count of sites will fluctuate year to year, but the CAGR is a useful indicator of the average annual growth in a time period. The formula and methodology for this can be found in section 2.6 of the accompanying background quality and methodology document .

The fastest growing UK region in terms of life sciences employment between 2016/17 and 2021/22 was Northern Ireland, with a CAGR of 7%. Life sciences employment in this region grew from 4,900 in 2016/17 to 6,900 in 2021/22, and this increase of 2,000 employees accounted for 4% of the net increase in life sciences employment across the UK as a whole.

London and the South West also experienced a high rate of growth in life sciences employment between 2016/17 and 2021/22, each with CAGRs of 6%. Life sciences employment in London increased by 8,900 in this time period, which accounted for 20% of the net UK increase in life sciences employment.

Despite having the highest share of employment out of all regions, the South East experienced lower relative growth between 2016/17 and 2021/22, with life sciences employment in this region increasing at a CAGR of 3% (the eighth highest out of 12 regions). However, as life sciences employment in this region grew by 9,600 over this time period, the South East’s contribution to the net UK growth in life sciences employment was the highest of all regions at 22%.

Figure 11: regional CAGR for life sciences employment between 2016 to 2017 and 2021 to 2022

Figure 11: regional CAGR for life sciences employment between 2016 to 2017 and 2021 to 2022.

The UK region with the highest rate of growth in terms of turnover between 2016/17 and 2021/22 was Scotland, where turnover increased with a CAGR of 12% (from £4.1 billion to £7.0 billion). This increase of £2.9 billion was equivalent to 12% of the total net increase in UK life sciences turnover over the same time period. Northern Ireland also experienced a high rate of growth over this time period, with a CAGR of 11%.

The next fastest growing regions for turnover in terms of CAGR between 2016/17 and 2021/22 were the East of England and the South East, with CAGRs of 7% and 6% respectively. Over this five year period, life sciences turnover in the East of England increased by £5.7 billion, which was equivalent to 24% of the net UK growth in life science turnover. Like with employment, the South East’s contribution to overall UK growth in turnover was the highest of all regions, with the South East’s increase of £8.7 billion over this time period accounting for 36% of UK’s net increase in life sciences turnover.

Figure 12: regional CAGR for life sciences turnover between 2016 to 2017 and 2021 to 2022

Figure 12: regional CAGR for life sciences turnover between 2016 to 2017 and 2021 to 2022.

Life sciences industry segments

Each site covered in this publication is allocated a segment based on the activity carried out there. A full list of these segments and more details on their definitions can be found in the accompanying background quality and user guide in section 11: sector and segmentation classification scheme’.

A small proportion of businesses in the database have more than one site. As segments are allocated at the site level, it is possible for sites belonging to the same business to be allocated different segments to each other (meaning that turnover and employment figures for a single business may be split between multiple segments).

Where a site engages in activity that falls into more than one segment, only the segment that represents the majority of the site activity is used in the analysis.

Similar to the analysis by geographical regions, the growth rates for segmentation are calculated using Compound Annual Growth Rates ( CAGR ) between the periods 2016/17 to 2021/22. The formula and methodology for this can be found in section 2.6 of the accompanying background quality and methodology document .

Employment by segmentation

In 2021/22, the segment within the biopharmaceutical sector with the highest employment was small molecules (a segment within the core sector). This was also the highest employment out of all segments within the whole life sciences industry. This segment accounted for 51,200, or 17%, of total employment in the life sciences industry. Small molecules had almost double the employment of the segment with the second highest employment in life sciences, contract manufacturing/research organisation (within the biopharmaceutical service and supply sector), where employment was 26,800 in 2021/22. All segments in the sector other than small molecules had an individual share of less than 10% each of total employment.

Whilst the small molecules segment has continuously had the highest employment of biopharmaceutical sites since 2008/09, its share of overall life science employment has decreased over time. Small molecules previously accounted for 25% of employment in 2008/09 and has decreased gradually to 17% in 2021/22. This decline has been the result of increases in employment in other segments and a decrease of 10% in small molecules segment employment since 2008/09. The contract manufacturing/research organisation segment in the biopharmaceutical sector had the second highest employment numbers at 26,800 in 2021/22. This segment has seen an upward trend between 2008/09 and 2021/22, with employment nearly doubling from 13,500 in 2008/09 to 26,800 in 2021/22.

In 2021/22 the medical technology segment with the highest employment was digital health. This segment employed 18,900 people in 2021/22 and accounted for 6% of all people employed in the life sciences industry. This placed it as the segment with the third highest employment across the entire UK life sciences industry after the small molecules and contract manufacturing/research organisation segments in the biopharmaceutical sector. The digital health segment has continuously been the segment with the highest employment within the medical technology sector since 2009/10 and has followed an upward trend over time, with particularly substantial increases between 2014/15 and 2021/22 (a percentage increase of 90%). All other medical technology segments individually accounted for less than 5% of life sciences employment.

Figure 13: percentage of employment in the life science industry by segment in 2021/22

Figure 13: percentage of employment in the life science sector by segment in 2021 to 2022.

• only the 10 segments with the highest share of industry employment are shown
• the data labels in the chart are rounded to 0 decimals places but the bars represent their unrounded value
• all segments within the service and supply sector are identical for both the biopharmaceutical and medical technology sectors, hence there is a ‘reagent, equipment and consumables supplier’ segment twice in the top 10 for the respective sectors

Compound annual growth rates ( CAGR ) for employment by segments

Segments with fewer than 1,000 employees in 2021/22 have been excluded from the following analysis of compound annual growth rates ( CAGR ) for employment due to the small impact they have on the overall employment figures of the life science industry.

The segment which saw the highest growth rate in employment between 2016/17 and 2021/22 was the advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) segment. Employment in the ATMPs segment increased from 1,300 in 2016/17 to 4,000 in 2021/22, resulting in a CAGR of 24%. The market analysis/specialist consultants and formulation/drug delivery specialist segments (both in the biopharmaceutical sector) were the segments with the next highest growth rates, with CAGRs of 13% and 12% respectively over the same time period. Only 3 of the 10 highest segments in terms of employment growth rates were within the medical technology sector.

The information systems specialists and digital health segments had the highest employment growth rates within the medical technology sector (and had the 4th and 5th highest growth rates overall) between 2016/2017, each with CAGRs of 10%.

The biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing/research organisation segment had the 8th highest growth rate between 2016/17 and 2021/22, with a CAGR of 8%. However, the increase of 8,700 employees in this segment over this 5 year period accounted for 20% of the net UK increase in life sciences employment, making it the segment with the highest contribution to overall growth.

Many segments in the life science industry have also experienced sharp growth in the two year period between 2019/20 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) and 2021/22 in employment. It is not possible to determine the extent to which these increases were impacted by the pandemic due to the complex, interdependent nature of the industry.

Considering segments with over 1,000 employees in 2021/22, the segments in the biopharmaceutical sector which experienced the highest relative growth in employment between 2019/20 and 2021/22 were the ‘biopharmaceutical formulation/drug delivery specialist segment (with a CAGR of 26%), advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) segment ( CAGR of 21%) and the ‘biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing/research organisation segment (14%).

Within the medical technology sector, the digital health segment also experienced sharp growth over the same period with a CAGR in employment of 13%.

Figure 14: CAGR for employment between 2016 to 2017 and 2021 to 2022 by segment

Figure 14: CAGR for employment between 2016 to 2017 and 2021 to 2022 by segment.

• only the 10 segments with the highest CAGR are shown

Turnover by segmentation

Similar to employment, the small molecules segment generated the highest turnover of all segments, with £39.3 billion of turnover in 2021/22. This accounted for over a third of the turnover generated by the life sciences industry. The small molecule segment has consistently been the top segment in terms of turnover since data collection began in 2008/09, although turnover followed a downward trend between 2010/11 and 2016/17. After 2016/17, turnover has seen 5 consecutive years of growth, with turnover in 2021/22 reaching its highest value for the period between 2008/09 and 2021/22.

Following small molecules, the next two highest segments, in terms of turnover, were the reagent, equipment and consumables supplier segment and the contract manufacturing/research organisation segment. Both of these segments operate in the biopharmaceutical sector and generated £11.9 billion (11% of all life science turnover generated) and £6.3 billion (6% of all life sciences turnover generated) respectively. The 4 segments with the highest turnover in 2021/22 were all within the biopharmaceutical sector.

Despite the small molecule segment consistently accounting for the highest share of life science turnover generated out of all segments, this share has gradually declined from 44% in 2008/09 to 36% in 2021/22. By contrast, the reagent, equipment and consumables supplier and contract manufacturing/research organisation segments’ (within the biopharmaceutical sector) share of employment has each increased over the same period.

The segment with the highest turnover in 2021/22 within the medical technology sector was the in vitro diagnostic technology segment with £3.5 billion in turnover, a share of 3% of all turnover generated by the life sciences industry. The in vitro diagnostic technology segment saw a substantial increase in turnover between 2020/21 and 2021/22 of 32%.The single use technology segment and the reagent, equipment and consumables supplier segment, in the medical technology sector, were the segments with the next highest turnover, also accounting for 3% each of total life science turnover generated

Figure 15: percentage of turnover in the life sciences industry by segment in 2021/22

Figure 15: percentage of turnover in the life sciences sector by segment in 2021 to 2022.

• only the 10 segments with the highest share of turnover are shown

Compound annual growth rates ( CAGR ) for turnover by segments

Segments with less than £1 billion in turnover in 2021/22 have been excluded from the following analysis of compound annual growth rates ( CAGR ) for turnover due to the small impact they have on the overall turnover generated by the life science industry.

The segment with the highest growth rate in turnover between 2016/17 and 2021/22 was the biopharmaceutical market analysis/specialist consultants segment, with a CAGR of 24%. Turnover in this segment increased from £0.6 billion in 2016/17 to £1.7 billion in 2021/22. The segments with the next highest growth rates in turnover were the in vitro diagnostic technology and biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing/research organisation segments, with CAGRs of 14% and 13% respectively.

Half of the 10 highest growth segments for turnover, including 2 of the top 5, were within the medical technology sector; this contrasts with the composition of the 10 highest growth segments for employment (where only 3 segments were within the medical technology sector).

The small molecules segment had the 11th highest growth rate between 2016/17 and 2021/22, with a CAGR of 6%. However, the increase of £10.2 billion in turnover seen in this segment accounted for 38% of the net increase in the UK life sciences industry turnover over this time period, making it the segment with the highest contribution to overall UK growth.

Similar to employment, many segments in the life sciences industry have also experienced sharp growth in turnover generated between 2019/20 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) and 2021/22. It is not possible to determine the extent to which these increases were impacted by the pandemic due to the complex, interdependent nature of the industry.

Considering segments with turnover generated of at least £1 billion in 2021/22, the in vitro diagnostic technology segment in the medical technology sector experienced the highest relative growth in turnover between 2019/20 and 2021/22. This segment’s turnover increased from £1.9 billion in 2019/20 to £3.5 billion in 2021/22, resulting in a CAGR of 35%.

Within the biopharmaceutical sector, the segment which experienced the highest growth in turnover generated over the same period was the vaccines segment. Turnover generated within the vaccines segment increased from £1.7 billion in 2019/20 to £2.9 billion in 2021/22, resulting in a CAGR of 29% over the 2 year period.

Within the medical technology sector, the single use technology segment also experienced sharp growth over the same period with a CAGR of 23%.

Figure 16: CAGR for turnover between 2016/17 and 2021/22 by segment

Figure 16: CAGR for turnover between 2016 to 2017 and 2021 to 2022 by segment.

Manufacturing and research activity in life sciences sites

In this section of the report, turnover and employment figures relate to sites where any manufacturing or R&D activity takes place. Some of these sites will undertake types of work in addition to manufacturing or research, and therefore employment and turnover from these sites includes contributions from non-manufacturing or non-research activities.

Some sites will undertake both manufacturing and R&D activities, meaning that the figures on turnover and employment for each of these sites are not mutually exclusive.

Manufacturing sites

There were 2,070 sites in 2021/22 involved in the manufacturing of life sciences products across the UK. The number of manufacturing sites has seen a slight downward trend since 2012/13, when the number of sites involved in manufacturing was at its highest (2,190) for the period between 2008/09 and 2021/22. In 2021/22, 26% of the total number of sites operating in life sciences industry were involved in manufacturing. This proportion has declined year-on-year since 2008/09, when 37% of sites were engaged in manufacturing activity. While the number of manufacturing sites has decreased since 2008/09, the total number of sites across the life sciences industry has seen an overall upward trend.

The region with the highest share of manufacturing sites was the South East, with 15% of sites being based in the region in 2021/22. Despite the South East having the highest proportion of manufacturing sites, this proportion is less than the South East’s share of all life sciences sites (18% in 2021/22). Other regions which also had a substantial share of the UK’s manufacturing sites were Yorkshire and the Humber, the East of England, the West Midlands, and the East Midlands, each accounting for over 10% of manufacturing sites in 2021/22. London by comparison only accounted for 6% of manufacturing sites in 2021/22.

In 2021/22, employment at sites engaged in manufacturing activities was at 118,800, a relative increase of 2% from 2020/21. Employment at manufacturing sites has increased overall between 2008/09 and 2021/22 and has broadly followed an upward trend in contrast to the number of sites. Despite this, there were some fluctuations and periods of decline but since 2018/19, employment has increased notably year-on-year, with employment rising from 110,000 in 2018/19 to 118,800 (an increase of 8,800, or 8%).

The region with the highest share of employment at manufacturing sites was the South East, with a share of 21% in 2021/22. This was substantially higher than the share of the region with the second highest manufacturing employment, the East of England, which accounted for 12% of employment in 2021/22. By contrast, London accounted for only 3% of employment at manufacturing sites.

Manufacturing sites generated £38.0bn of turnover in 2021/22, up from £35.2bn in 2020/21 - a relative increase of 8%. Turnover generated from manufacturing sites has fluctuated between 2008/09 and 2021/22 but there was an overall upward trend between 2017/18 and 2019/20 with a sharper rise between 2019/20 and 2021/22.

Similar to the number of sites and employment, the South East was the UK region which generated the highest value of turnover from sites engaged in manufacturing activity in 2021/22, a position it has held consistently since 2008/09. Sites in the South East generated 22% of all turnover in 2021/22, although this proportion has declined from 30%, in both 2011/12 and 2013/14 (the highest proportion since 2008/09). Sites in the East of England also accounted for a high proportion of the turnover generated by manufacturing sites, at 18% in 2021/22. By contrast, sites in the London region only accounted for 3% of the total turnover generated from manufacturing sites.

Figure 17: number of sites engaged in manufacturing activity and number of sites not engaged in manufacturing activity

Figure 17: number of sites engaged in manufacturing activity and number of sites not engaged in manufacturing activity.

Research and development ( R&D ) sites

In 2021/22, there were 2,600 life sciences sites in the UK that engaged in R&D activity. The number of sites engaged in R&D activity has seen a notable upward trend between 2008/09 and 2021/22. The proportion of total UK sites operating in the life sciences industry that engaged in R&D activity has remained broadly stable since 2008/09, with 33% of sites engaging in R&D activity in 2021/22.

The regions with the highest share of sites with R&D activity in 2021/22 were the South East and the East of England, with 18% of total R&D sites based in each region. This is consistent with the South East accounting for the largest share of overall life sciences sites in 2021/22, at 18%, with London following at 15%. London also had the third highest share of sites engaged in R&D activity at 15% in 2021/22.

In 2021/22, R&D sites reached employment of 107,000, a relative increase of 9% from 2020/21. Employment at sites engaged in R&D activity broadly followed an upward trend after 2013/14 and saw a sharper rise between 2018/19 and 2021/22.

The region with the highest share of employment at sites engaged in R&D activity was the South East, with a share of 24% in 2021/22. The East of England also accounted for a substantial proportion of employment at R&D sites in 2021/22, with a share of 21%. London was the UK region with the third highest employment at sites engaged in R&D activity, with a share of 10% in 2021/22.

R&D sites generated £35.5 billion of turnover in 2021/22, up from £29.5 billion in 2020/21, a relative increase of 20%. For the period between 2008/09 and 2021/22, turnover generated from R&D sites was at its lowest in 2014/15, at £21.9 billion, after which turnover increased each year, with the largest increase occurring between 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Similar to the number of sites and employment, the South East has consistently been the UK region which generated the highest total turnover for R&D sites since 2014/15. The South East’s share of turnover generated at R&D sites has grown from 24% in 2008/09 to 40% in 2021/22. The share of R&D site turnover held by the South East in 2021/22 was substantially higher than the region’s share of R&D sites and R&D employment (18% and 24%, respectively). Sites in the East of England also generated a high proportion of the turnover generated by R&D sites, at 27% in 2021/22. By contrast sites in the London region only generated 6% of the total turnover generated from R&D sites.

Figure 18: number of sites engaged in R&D activity and sites not engaged in any R&D activity

Figure 18: number of sites engaged in R&D activity and sites not engaged in any R&D activity.

Genomics sites

Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of science and technology focused on the study of genomes. In this publication, we use the term ‘genomics’ to refer specifically to the study of the human genome and the application of the resulting knowledge to human health.

In this analysis, sites with genomics activity are assigned a level 1 and level 2 genomics classification. More details on the categories used in these classifications can be found in the accompanying background quality and user guide in section 11. Sector and segmentation classification scheme. This classification is entirely separate from the sector/segment descriptions also assigned to sites.

Companies are only coded as undertaking genomics activity if genomics is their principal activity, or if genomics contributes to a substantial level of their activity. Companies that use genomics to inform processes such as drug discovery would not be classed as undertaking genomics activity.

Please note that additional businesses were identified as having substantial levels of activity in the field of genomics this year. Figures on genomics activity relating to past years have been backdated and revised accordingly. Please see the section on ‘Revision notices’ for more information.

In 2021/22, there were 150 sites which engaged in genomics activity. The number of sites notably increased year-on-year between 2008/09 and 2019/20 but has since remained more stable between 2020/21 and 2021/22, with no change in this figure between 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Employment at sites working in genomics has seen substantial increases year-on-year since 2008/09 and reached 6,800 in 2021/22, over 4 times the number of employees in 2008/09. The increase in employment in recent years has been notably sharp with employment more than doubling from 3,200 in 2016/17 to 6,800 in 2021/22.

Nearly half (45%) of the 150 sites in 2021/22 had a primary activity of the application of genomics (the process of directly using genomic information to improve targeting of clinical services) followed by a further 28% primarily involved in sequencing activities (which involves decoding the order of the nucleotides in a genome).

Despite the application of genomics accounting for the highest number of sites in 2021/22, there were more people employed at sites involved in sequencing. Sites involved in sequencing accounted for over half of employment in genomics sites, with nearly 3,800 employees. A further 2,300 employees worked at sites involved in the application of genomics, which accounted for 33% of employment at genomics sites. All other genomics sub-activities each accounted for 5% or less of overall employment at genomics sites.  

Both the number of employees working at sequencing sites and the number of employees working at application sites have seen upward trends since 2008/09, but employment at application sites has seen sharper increases. Employment at sites involved in sequencing has tripled between 2008/09 and 2021/22 whereas employment at sites involved in application of genomics has increased seven-fold. As a result, the proportion of employees at sites working in the application of genomics has increased from around 19% in 2008/09 to 33% in 2021/22, whilst the proportion of employment at sequencing sites has declined from 74% in 2008/09 to 56% in 2021/22.

Figure 19: employment at sites engaged in genomic activity

Figure 19: employment at sites engaged in genomic activity.

Note: employment for sites primarily involved in sampling and where activities are not elsewhere classified are not shown due to low counts

The value of turnover generated, in real terms, by genomics sites has seen an upward trend between 2008/09 and 2021/22, and reached £3.6 billion in 2021/22. Turnover generated by these sites is now 19 times higher in 2021/22 compared to 2008/09 with a high proportion of this growth occurring between 2014/15 and 2015/16. The trend in turnover generated has since been more volatile but a sharp increase of 36% was seen between 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Sites undertaking sequencing activity, generated the highest turnover of all activities in 2021/22, accounting for the vast majority of turnover generated from genomics sites. These sites generated £3.2 billion in turnover in 2021/22, accounting for 88% of all turnover generated by sites engaged in genomics activities. Turnover generated from sites specialising in sequencing consistently accounted for the majority of turnover generated from all genomics sites for the period between 2008/09 to 2021/22 and this proportion has substantially increased from 50% in 2008/09 to 88% in 2021/22.

Figure 20: turnover generated from sites engaged in genomics activity

Figure 20: turnover generated from sites engaged in genomics activity.

Size and ownership of life sciences businesses

Business size.

In this publication, the coverage of small and medium-sized enterprise ( SME ) classification has been improved from the previous publication. These improvements have been applied to the SME status for data relating to the time period between 2017/18 and 2021/22. Companies are categorised as micro, small, medium ( SME ) or large using the European Union standard definition of small and medium-sized enterprises.

In 2021/22, there were 5,950 sites that were part of SMEs in the UK, which accounted for 75% of all life sciences sites. Despite making up the majority of sites, SMEs accounted for a small fraction of the turnover generated by the life sciences industry, with £8.3 billion in turnover generated in 2021/22 (8% of total turnover generated by the life sciences industry). These sites also employed 69,800 people (23% of total employment in the life sciences industry).

Of all the sites in 2021/22, there was a small number (0.5%), where the SME classification was unknown.

The proportion of sites that belong to businesses which were SMEs saw a slight decline compared to previous years, falling to 75% in 2021/22 from 78% in 2017/18. This trend has also occurred in employment and turnover generated by sites at SME businesses. In 2017/18, 25% of people employed in life sciences were employed at SME sites, which fell to 23% in 2021/22 and similarly 10% of turnover generated from the sector in 2017/18 was from SME sites but this has fallen to 8% in 2021/22.

The proportion of life sciences sites that were part of SMEs varies by region. London and the East Midlands had the highest proportion of sites that were a part of SMEs , at 78% in 2021/22. By contrast, the South East had the lowest at 70% in 2021/22.

There were larger regional differences in the proportion of employment and turnover generated by SME sites. Only 17% of life sciences employment in the North East was at sites belonging to SMEs in 2021/22, but this proportion was 28% in the East Midlands. With regards to turnover, only 5% of life sciences turnover generated in the South East was from sites belonging to SMEs , whereas this proportion was 19% in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Figure 21: percentage of employment, sites and turnover by SME status in 2021 to 2022

Figure 21: percentage of employment, sites and turnover by SME status in 2021 to 2022.

Within these 5,950 sites that were part of SME businesses, nearly two thirds (63%) were part of micro businesses. A further 27% were part of small businesses and the remaining 10% were part of medium sized businesses.

Despite only accounting for 10% of sites belonging to SMEs , medium sizes businesses accounted for 47% of SME employment and 61% of turnover generated by SMEs in in 2021/22.

Figure 22: percentage of employment, sites and turnover for SMEs by subcategory in 2021/22

Figure 22: percentage of employment, sites and turnover for SMEs by subcategory in 2021 to 2022.

Company ownership

In this publication, data is now available on company ownership for the period between 2017/18 and 2021/22.

The data sources used to compile this report contain information on the ultimate global owner of the businesses in the database. This information is available for 71% (5,650) of the sites with data relating to 2021/22. However, the sites where the owner origin is not known account for a small proportion of total industry employment (6%) and turnover (2%).

In 2021/22, 27% of life sciences sites were identified as being owned by overseas companies. However, it’s important to note that the owner origin was unknown for a substantial proportion of sites (29%). The sites that were identified as having overseas ownership accounted for 65% of total life sciences industry turnover and 53% of employment in 2021/22.

The percentage of sites that were identified as being owned by overseas companies has increased each year from 22% in 2017/18 to 27% in 2021/22. Over the same time period, the percentage of sites with an unknown ownership status has decreased from 39% in 2017/18 to 29% in 2021/22.

Figure 23: percentage of employment, sites and turnover by company ownership in 2021/22

Figure 23: percentage of employment, sites and turnover by company ownership in 2021 to 2022.

Terminology

Industry : used to collectively describe all sectors covered in the analysis used in the BaHTSS series

Principal sector : The top level of the segmentation scheme used to describe biopharmaceuticals and medical technology

Sector : used to describe the 4 component sectors of the life sciences industry. This includes the core biopharmaceutical, core medical technology, biopharmaceutical service and supply and medical technology service and supply sectors.

Segment : used to describe the individual product or service groups within a sector. See the background quality and user guide section 10. Sector and segmentation classification scheme for more details on these segments.

Core biopharmaceutical sector : includes all businesses involved in developing and/or producing their own pharmaceutical products - from small, research and development ( R&D ) focused biotechs to multinational Big Pharma

Biopharmaceutical service and supply sector : comprises businesses that offer goods and services to core biopharmaceutical businesses including, for example, Contract Research and Manufacturing Organisations ( CRMOs ), and suppliers of consumables and reagents for R&D facilities

Core medical technology sector : includes all businesses whose primary business involves developing and producing medical technology products, ranging from single-use consumables to complex hospital equipment, including digital health products

Medical technology service and supply sector : comprises businesses that offer services to core medical technology businesses including, for example, CRMOs , and suppliers of consumables and reagents for R&D facilities

Genomics : an interdisciplinary field focusing on the study of the human genome and the application of resulting knowledge to human health. It is a cross-cutting categorisation across all four sectors.

Business : used to describe an entity that is the legal owner of a group of trading addresses or sites and legal entities. A business may consist of more than one site or registered company. The term business is used in this document when discussing the whole life sciences industry and the four sectors

Sites : Businesses can operate over multiple sites over different locations in the UK. Each individual site is segmented and has employment and turnover assigned to it

SME status : based on the  European definition of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises  ( SMEs ) and refers to businesses with fewer than 250 employees and which either have annual turnover up to and including €50 million and/or have an annual balance sheet total up to and including €43 million

Is this page useful?

• Yes this page is useful
• No this page is not useful

Help us improve GOV.UK

Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details.

To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. Please fill in this survey .