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As the UK life sciences sector navigates shifting investment priorities and increasing pressure to deliver innovation efficiently, Aberdeen is stepping into the spotlight. Often overshadowed by its energy legacy, the city is also home to a thriving life sciences ecosystem, built on decades of world-class research at the University of Aberdeen and a collaborative, cross-sector approach that’s gaining wider recognition

Recent headlines may have focused on paused investments in London and Cambridge—including Merck’s cancelled £1 billion research hub and AstraZeneca’s shelved £200 million expansion, but Aberdeen is demonstrating a different trajectory. Here, biotech companies are not only incubating early-stage ideas but advancing therapies to regulatory submission and market readiness.

A strategic shift in Scotland’s innovation landscape

Aberdeen’s world-class innovation-led life sciences enterprises are tackling modern epidemics, from neurodegenerative diseases and infectious diseases to cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. They share a strong entrepreneurial drive, take novel research from the laboratory bench to commercialisation and attract significant investment.

Aberdeen’s life sciences sector is growing driven by research excellence and a collaborative entrepreneurial environment. At the centre of this transformation is Opportunity North East (ONE), a private sector-led economic development initiative and its flagship life sciences project, ONE BioHub, a £40 million investment in infrastructure and entrepreneurship.

ONE BioHub: Infrastructure meets innovation

Opened in August 2023 on Aberdeen’s Foresterhill Health Campus, ONE BioHub is a transformational hub for the commercialisation of life sciences research. It offers state-of-the-art laboratory, office and collaboration spaces tailored for start-ups, spinouts and scaling businesses. ONE BioHub provides access to expert networks, mentoring and bespoke growth programmes that support founders throughout their commercialisation journey. It is more than a building–it is home to the north east’s life science ecosystem, translating centuries of research into tangible solutions.

The Foresterhill location is strategic. As one of Europe’s largest integrated health campuses, it brings together academic research, clinical practice and commercialisation, creating a rich environment for translational science and talent development–the triple helix.

A Thriving ecosystem of entrepreneurs and innovators

Aberdeen’s biotech community is already producing standout success stories. TauRx, a homegrown company developing treatments for Alzheimer’s and related neurodegenerative diseases, has attracted $890 million in investment. Its lead candidate, hydromethylthionine mesylate (HMTM), has been submitted for regulatory approval under the UK’s accelerated access pathway, a major milestone for both the company and the region.

NovaBiotics, founded by Deborah O’Neil OBE FRSE, has successfully taken its first product from invention to global commercialisation. The company continues to develop therapies for infectious and inflammatory conditions, demonstrating the region’s capacity to deliver market-ready solutions.

Another successful life sciences company which was spun out from the University of Aberdeen in 2016, Elasmogen, is developing antibody-like molecules called “solomers” to deliver treatments for autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and to deliver both chemotherapy and radiotherapy in more targeted ways.

In 2022, the company secured an £8m investment from the Business Growth Fund (BGF), Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB).

Professor Caroline Barelle, founder and CEO of Elasmogen, highlights the collaborative nature of the ecosystem:

“Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire have been home to exceptionally innovative biotechs, which has created a fertile environment for entrepreneurship and new company creation. ONE BioHub provides a focal point, a heart, to concentrate our excellence in life sciences, to build critical mass within a vibrant, innovative environment, to foster sharing of expertise and ideas, to support existing companies and to create new enterprises.”

Supporting the next generation of life sciences leaders

ONE Life Sciences plays a critical role in nurturing the region’s biotech talent. It provides ecosystem-wide support to accelerate the commercialisation of research and foster the growth of start-ups, spin-outs and scaling businesses. This includes tailored programmes for founders mentoring, and access to expert networks. Life sciences founders working with ONE say this support is critical to their growth.

A continuing partnership between Innovate UK and the University of Aberdeen led ten teams of academic entrepreneurs to complete the ICURe Discover North East programme in 2024–2025. This initiative is strengthening the pipeline of future spinouts by igniting entrepreneurship among researchers and stimulating the next wave of biotech innovation in the region.

ONE is committed to accelerating commercial activity in North East Scotland as part of broader efforts to diversify the regional economy. The pipeline of promising spinouts is rich with potential, poised to create groundbreaking companies that drive innovation and economic growth. ONE continues to provide the support, resources and networks these spinouts need to thrive, partnering with the University of Aberdeen to prepare teams for the next phase of commercialisation, including applications to the follow-up ICURe Explore programme.

This year, ONE has also continued its partnership with Innovate UK and University of Aberdeen and now Scottish Enterprise to deliver another ICURe programme, further reinforcing the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and amplifying its economic impact.

ONE Life Sciences commitment has led to Aberdeen’s life sciences sector being on track to double by 2030, a clear signal of the region’s upward trajectory.

A model for regional innovation

As Scotland looks to strengthen regional innovation, ONE BioHub and ONE Life Sciences are showing what place-based growth can achieve, aligning investment, skills and leadership to build a globally competitive biotech cluster in the North East.

Deborah O’Neil, who chairs the ONE Life Sciences and BioAberdeen boards, summarises the opportunity:

“Here in Aberdeen, we’re not just incubating early-stage ideas for new medicines, we’re taking them all the way from invention to regulatory submissions and launch-readiness. The drug discovery and development ecosystem in the North East of Scotland has the ambition and capability to translate biotech innovation to marketed products.”

Why Aberdeen is gaining industry attention

Aberdeen offers several strategic advantages for life sciences companies navigating today’s complex R&D and commercialisation landscape:

• Lower overheads compared to traditional hubs like London and Cambridge.
• World-class academic research in cardiovascular, metabolic and infectious diseases, oncology, neurodegeneration and biomedical imaging.
• Integrated clinical and commercial infrastructure within the Foresterhill Health Campus.
• Strong entrepreneurial culture supported by targeted programmes and private sector leadership.

These factors make Aberdeen an attractive location for biotech firms, drug development AI and MedTech organisations looking to collaborate, invest or expand.

A region ready to lead

Aberdeen’s life sciences sector is no longer emerging, it’s accelerating. With ONE BioHub as its home, the region is building the infrastructure, talent and entrepreneurial culture needed to compete on a global stage.

For life sciences professionals Aberdeen offers a compelling proposition: a collaborative ecosystem, a strong pipeline of innovation and a strategic commitment to growth.

As we wait for Scotland’s life sciences strategy, the North East of Scotland is proving that the future of biotech doesn’t have to come from the usual places. It can and increasingly does come from Aberdeen.

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