Hundreds of UK spin-outs, established following taxpayer-funded bioscience research, have contributed £5.2 billion to the economy and created thousands of jobs.
Cambridge Policy Consultants Ltd has reviewed the economic impact of 457 spin-out companies. These were established following years of research support by the UK’s chief public funder of bioscience research and innovation, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). It has concluded that the spin-outs have contributed £5.2 billion to the economy and created thousands of jobs.
The review analysed the economic contribution of these spin-outs over a 25-year period between 1997 and 2021.
BBSRC invests more than £450 million each year in a wide-ranging portfolio of bioscience research and other activity aimed at unlocking bio-based solutions to some of the country’s biggest economic and societal challenges.
The findings
The review found that in 2021 to 2022, 402 spin-outs supported by BBSRC funding employed over 8,000 people across a wide range of UK markets. These include:
- health services (29%)
- pharma (22%)
- biotech (21%)
- agriculture (10%)
- food manufacturing (10%)
It also revealed that bioscience spin-outs established following BBSRC support are present in other, unexpected sectors, such as:
- transportation
- wellness and beauty
- sports
Publicly backed bioscience spin-outs make big impact on economy – UKRI