Research

Cambridge’s life science innovation ecosystem is distinctive for its concentration of research and industry. Today, Cambridge is Europe’s largest biotechnology cluster, composed of more than 30 science and technology parks

Map shows some of the science and technology parks in and around Cambridge
Map shows some of the science and technology parks in and around Cambridge

Cambridge is among the foremost life sciences clusters in the world. Groundbreaking advances in the treatment of human health, both in research and application, have happened here. Life sciences is the fastest-growing sector in the cluster, contributing around £2.3bn annually to the UK economy.

Key facts about research in Cambridge:

• 27 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to Cambridge affiliates for medicine

• The University of Cambridge produced more than 4,700 biomedical and health publications between 2015 and 2018 – more than a fifth of these were among the top 10% most cited in the field

• 316 patent applications published per 100,000 residents – the highest in the UK and more than the next two cities combined

• $950m of venture funding was invested into life science start-ups and scale-ups around Cambridge from 2015-2020. For example, CMR Surgical raised $600m in a recent funding round

• Solexa-Illumina’s next-generation DNA sequencing is responsible for as much as 90% of the total DNA and RNA sequences produced worldwide – from 10 years to sequence one genome in 2000, to one genome a day in 2021

• Six of the world’s top 10 drugs in use were developed in the Cambridge cluster; e.g., HUMIRA is helping millions of people cope with rheumatoid arthritis and many other debilitating diseases

• Highly rated NHS Trusts, including Royal Papworth as the first hospital to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating across all CQC domains in 2019

• 470 life science companies based in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; life sciences cluster turnover of £7bn

• 21% annual growth in turnover and 11% in employment, outpacing every other sector over the past six years

• 25 of the world’s largest corporations in the ecosystem

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