BioNow conference shines light on North East health and life sciences ambitions

Dr Sam Whitehouse is a LEP board member, Executive Chairman of High Force Research Ltd and CEO of LightOx Ltd. He recently opened the BioFocus 2023 conference, which brought together the North East health and life sciences sector.

The North East has many strengths and is a great place to grow a life science business. The sector has a growing influence on the economy, with 260 health and life science businesses operating in the North East LEP area in 2022 – a 21% increase from 2015.

The total contribution of pharma manufacturing to North East region GVA in 2021 was £1.5 billion – a figure which has more than doubled since 2015.

This is something the LEP is very proud of as it continues to support the goal of creating 24,000 jobs in the sector by 2030.

I was delighted to open BioNow’s BioFocus 2023 conference at Newcastle Helix. BioFocus is a fantastic event that presents a great opportunity to promote our vision to position the North East as a leader in the development, testing, manufacturing and adoption of people-centred treatments, therapeutics and medicines.

As a community of companies, we present a very good opportunity for investment. We’re an incredibly innovative bunch of people with a lot of ambition, and a lot of talent and we like to work together.

However, there is not always the capital to realise our ambitions. Quite simply, there is still much to be done. We lag behind other areas like Manchester and of course the South East when it comes to securing private investment. We are beginning to get the momentum right in this area but it is still not quite as coherent as it could be.

We have an incubator, the Biosphere, in Newcastle full of life sciences companies, with every one of them looking for large amounts of funding. We need to really highlight what we can do and show investors that the North East is a ripe opportunity for significant investment.

Events like BioFocus 2023 are important because they bring together industry, academia, and experts within the field of life sciences and really signal to investors what we can do as a region.

It is important that we use key events like this to celebrate our innovations and achievements.

By securing more private sector investment and being prepared for future government funding opportunities, we can ensure the businesses in our sector are able to realise their full ambitions.

Health and life sciences is an area which presents huge potential for the North East. Now is the time to continue to work together, build momentum and maximise investment opportunities.

Visit the North East Evidence Hub for more statistics on health and life sciences.