Pharmaceutical Market Europe • March 2025 • 34-35
LIFE SCIENCES
Life sciences in Europe
– the top 20 global cities
The Global Cities Comparison Report benchmarked 20 global cities across five key areas
A report by MedCity ranks London as the number one city in Europe and the third city globally for life sciences.
The Global Cities Comparison Report, released by the life sciences cluster organisation late last year, ahead of London Life Sciences Week, benchmarks 20 global cities across five key areas:
London had the highest global ranking for health research environment. The city offers more than 35 biomedical research centres and serves one of the world’s most diverse populations, with more than 40% of its 8.9 million residents identifying with either Asian, black, mixed or other ethnic groups. In combination with its integrated digital health systems and supportive regulatory body, the report found this makes the city an attractive destination for health research and drug development.
The UK capital claimed second place for research innovation, following closely behind Boston. London is home to three universities that are ranked among the top 15 globally for clinical and health sciences, as well as a significant number of Nobel Prize-winning scientists. Additionally, the city’s life sciences research community is known for its high volume of publications and active participation in international research collaborations outside the US.
‘London is home to three universities that are ranked among the top 15 globally for clinical and health sciences, as well as a significant number of Nobel Prize-winning scientists’
London was also ranked number two for business environment, ahead of New York. The UK capital is considered a prime location for life sciences businesses, with its ecosystem of more than 2,400 life sciences companies, international connectivity, sustainability commitments and low operational risk.
Commenting on the findings, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Our world-beating life sciences industry is a key pillar of London’s economy, creating thousands of highly skilled jobs, contributing billions of pounds to our economy and improving our healthcare system, as we continue building a better and more prosperous London for everyone.”
This solid foundation allows London’s life sciences innovators to fully harness the potential of artificial intelligence (AI).
The city houses more AI and data-focused life sciences companies than any other globally, having collectively raised more than £2.2bn in investment to date. Major pharmaceutical companies, including GSK, have established their largest AI teams in London, and the city is also home to leading AI research centres, such as Google’s DeepMind and the Alan Turing Institute.
Recursion, a clinical-stage US biotech company headquartered in Salt Lake City, recently expanded its operations to London. The company is focused on decoding biology using Recursion OS, a platform built across diverse technologies that continuously generate one of the world’s largest proprietary biological and chemical data sets.
The company’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Chris Gibson, said: “… it’s critical we hire the best possible talent, much of which is located in Europe. London stood out as an ideal location given its brilliant and interdisciplinary talent across the fields of technology, biology and chemistry.
“It’s also the epicentre for the rapidly growing techbio sector in Europe, where leading technology and life sciences companies like Google and MSD [known as Merck & Co in the US and Canada] both sit within walking distance of our new Recursion site.”
Founded in 2014 by the Mayor of London in partnership with London’s Academic Health Science Centres, MedCity encourages international collaborations between pharma, biotech and medtech companies and the capital’s life sciences ecosystem. The organisation became a part of London & Partners, the growth agency for London, in 2023 and aims to accelerate innovation, drive inward investment, and build skills and talent across the sector in the UK.
The Global Cities Comparison Report follows the launch of London’s Offer for Life Sciences, a new resource created by MedCity in collaboration with key stakeholders for those interested in the city’s life sciences sector.
London’s Offer for Life Sciences highlights the city’s combined offer across:
It also provides detailed information on London’s life sciences clusters, including the:
The resource also contains information on the funding and support programmes that are available to growing life sciences businesses in the city, as well as additional information for innovators and investors on its key areas of expertise, including:
Sharing her ambitions for the new resource, Angela Kukula, MedCity’s chief executive officer and director of life sciences at London & Partners, said: “London’s Offer for Life Sciences highlights everything that makes the city stand out. Its world-class institutions, thriving research clusters, skilled workforce and strong connections locally and internationally.
“Our goal is to make it easy for anyone interested in London’s life sciences sector – from investors to innovators – to find the information they need. This is just the start and we look forward to growing this resource with ongoing support from our key partners.”
This year’s London Life Sciences Week will take place from 16 to 21 November 2025 and will be an opportunity to forge valuable partnerships within the life sciences sector.
Last year’s London Life Sciences Week saw hundreds of industry leaders, innovators and investors gather for a week of networking, dealmaking and celebrating life sciences innovation. The annual event is centred around the Jefferies European Healthcare Conference, which attracts more than 800 international senior decision-makers from life sciences companies and investor firms.
Steve Bates, chief executive officer of the BioIndustry Association, the trade association for innovative life sciences and biotech industry in the UK, described London Life Sciences Week as an “increasingly important moment of connection for the global biotech community” and a “fantastic opportunity to meet key players and make new business connections”.
Emily Kimber is Deputy Editor at PMGroup
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