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North East life sciences experiencing a wave of optimism - but there are challenges to overcome

2025-04-05 05:47:56 By

The NunaBio laboratory at Newcastle Helix

Life sciences has long been touted as one of the North East’s most promising sectors. One which supports 15,000 jobs, is a major exporter and contributes £2.7bn to the economy each year.

And new research points to growing optimism among the region’s 450 companies which include precision medicine specialists, pharmaceutical manufacturers and research and development companies, among other disciplines.

A joint report from Teesside-based The Centre for Process Innovation and Newcastle-based Square One Law - the first of what is intended to be an annual snapshot - honed in on 30 firms. It found that nearly 75% think 2025 will bring better financial performance, with strategic shifts towards private sector sales in place of reliance on the NHS; clinical successes and the filing of patents, and scalability of services among the factors cited as confidence boosters.

Attention is increasingly focussed across the Atlantic where North East firms - many of them SMEs - see opportunity in the lucrative US market. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the report does not mention the current unreliability of the US as a trading partner. President Donald Trump has proposed the US will slap a 25% tariff on pharmaceuticals starting in April and rising substantially through the year. That more drastic measure supersedes earlier thoughts that ‘reciprocal tariffs’ to VAT could be introduced. The British Chambers of Commerce say that even the latter would “upend established trade norms” and create cost and complexity for British firms.

Notwithstanding those uncertainties, the report’s authors say the North East should help its companies build bridges with US healthcare systems including hospitals and others with direct access to the market stateside. Among its suggestions are trade missions from the region and programmes to help North East firms meet stringent US Food and Drug Administration requirements.

Access to capital was also noted among the challenges faced by the sector with only 3% of firms reporting success with private funding - though 9% said they had success with public funding. Unnamed SME pharma respondents talked of difficulties in getting venture capital funding and seeing overseas competitors making progress while UK investors plumped for “safer” bets.

Sam Whitehouse leads Newcastle-based LightOx, a cancer treatment innovator which has developed a light-activated gel that is a type of chemotherapy for early stage oral cancers. Last year, his firm secured £1.5m including from Newcastle’s Northstar Ventures and the GMC Life Sciences Fund which is designed to support firms setting up in Greater Manchester and surrounding area.

Dr Whitehouse said: “The challenges for the region, it is sad to say, remain fairly constant. We have suffered from a lack of investment both from the private finance and from Government, with the majority of investment being in the South East and the golden triangle. There is sadly a lack of investors in the North East, and much of the finance gained by our companies comes from overseas.

“This is compounded by the fact the Government also does not give certainty to the funding bodies such as Innovate UK, to work beyond a one-year period. Growth is only possible with the right nurture, and investment gives that stability to grow from. However, despite these challenges, we see more and more SMEs in the region, more jobs being created and a demand for space increasing. The technologies being developed continue to be at the cutting edge of innovation, and the value of these products continues to increase.”

The reported funding challenges did not stop £100m of recent investment identified in the North East, and a further £40m spent by Organon - the £138m turnover women’s health drug maker which employs 675 at Cramlington.

Lack of laboratory space also looms large as a hindrance to the growth of the sector.The report points to the success of Newcastle’s The Biosphere - home to LightOx and many others - which offers laboratory and office space, and County Durham’s NETPark which is hosts firms such as stem cell specialists Reprocell Europe and diabetic sleepmask creators PolyPhotonix. But it also talks of increasing demand for lab and cleanroom space - a national issue it says the North East is well positioned to meet with plans for similar Biosphere buildings, where Newcastle City Council is seeking an investor, and competitive overheads compared to rival areas, particularly the sector hotspots of Oxford and Cambridge.

Demand is such that the North of Tyne Combined Authority, Invest Newcastle and Invest North East England commissioned a feasibility study last year to look at how existing buildings in Newcastle and the wider region could be converted and adapted to create new laboratory space. That work has reportedly turned up at least 40 sites which could be repurposed, and established a methodology that could be applied to more buildings.

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Mid Wales DNA tech testing firm boosted with equity investment

A Powys start-up pioneering DNA testing technology as easy to use as a smartphone has secured a six-figure equity investment to support its commercialisation plans. Amped PCR is developing PurifAI which it says revolutionises how industries detect harmful pathogens. It has secured a £350,000 investment from the Development Bank of Wales, in a round also backed with £185,000 from London-based tech investors SFC Capital. The investment bring the PurifAI system, alongside its reagent Amped universal, to a wider market. Founder Ben Davis has more than 15 years of experience in the sector, and is committed to making DNA testing accessible and efficient across industries. Polymerase chain reaction – more commonly known as PCR – is a technique used to amplify normally small amounts of DNA to much larger quantities, allowing anyone testing or analysing DNA to boost the size of the sample available, making it easier for further analysis. Amped PCR is taking this process a step further by incorporating it into the PurifAI system, which allows DNA testing to move from specialised labs to real-world environments like food production sites or environmental monitoring facilities. The PurifAI system is designed to address critical challenges such as high-profile food recalls and the growing need for effective environmental and water testing in the fight against harmful pathogens and antimicrobial resistance. By enabling on-site detection of pathogens like salmonella, listeria and campylobacter, PurifAI allows food producers, environmental agencies and other stakeholders to respond rapidly and proactively, reducing risks and safeguarding public health. Mr Davis said: “We want to improve the user experience so that using this technology feels as intuitive as using a smartphone. Pretty much everyone has a smartphone these days and the technology underpinning them is very sophisticated, but the end user in most cases does not need to know how that all works - it just works. PurifAI is about putting cutting-edge testing power directly into the hands of users, wherever they are and whatever their DNA question may be.” Co-founder Aysha Shah said: “My focus is on making PurifAI intuitive for non-specialist user. By prioritising accessibility and usability, we’re creating a tool that can address major global challenges while fitting seamlessly into existing workflows.” Linzi Plant, assistant investment executive in the Technology Ventures Investment team at the Development Bank of Wales, said:“It was a pleasure to work with Ben and Aysha at Amped PCR as they looked to start up and bring their reagent to a wider market. "The potential uses of their product are huge and it’s fantastic to see a small Welsh company coming up with what could be a revolutionary solution in so many fields of DNA testing.”

Coding school to create new edtech jobs in Birmingham

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UK fintech funding races ahead of Europe as sector looks for 2025 rebound

New figures reveal that the UK's fintech sector trailed only the US in total investment last year, despite a significant decline in funding compared to 2023 levels. While global fintech investment decreased by 20% to $43.5bn (£35.2bn), the UK secured $3.6bn (£2.9bn) in funding, surpassing the combined total of the next five European countries, data from Innovate Finance shows, as reported by City AM. Despite the downturn in new capital, industry experts anticipate a rebound in 2025. "When we've been speaking with investors, they're positive about 2025," Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance, commented to City AM. "There was a bit of dry powder there waiting, and now going forward, there's a lot more clarity as we're in a post-Budget, post Mansion House environment. There is certainty around the government, both here and in the US. " Although the UK maintained its second-place position globally, its funding decline outpaced the worldwide average, closely followed by India, which reported $2.2bn (£1.8bn) in fintech investments for the year. In 2024, major UK deals included a $621m funding round for Monzo and $267m for Zepz. However, female-led fintechs experienced a stark 78% drop in investment, garnering just $120m (£97m), or 3.3% of all UK funding. "It is a clear indication that we need to be doing more, because that is a hugely disappointing number, and we have to take action to try and increase that," Hirt stated.

Newcastle property firm iamproperty to create 100 jobs over coming months

A major recruitment drive has been opened up by Newcastle's iamproperty as it plans to create 100 jobs over the next 18 months. The Gosforth-based provider of technology for online property auctions says it will initially focus the expansion on its residential conveyancing arm, Medway Law. It is part of a move to capitalise on continued rises in auction transactions. To begin with, 20 roles are being advertised across its conveyancing and business support services. In February and March, more than 20 roles will be available for auction specialists. Bosses say the move comes on the back of demand for iamproperty's auction solution driven by buyers and sellers looking for fast sales ahead of the Stamp Duty Land Tax deadline in April. That is when the threshold band on residential properties will reduce from £250,000 to £125,000. Iamproperty, which employs 700 people, is said to be the UK's largest online residential auctioneer and reports that the number of properties sold by auction was up by 28% in December last year, compared with the year before and bidding activity was up 64%. The firm says that auctions can offer 56-day completion timescales from receipt of draft contracts, based on a standard property. Ben Ridgway, co-founder at iamproperty, said: "We’re pleased to be expanding our 150-strong team within Medway Law with these new legal roles. We know some redundancies were faced in the industry before Christmas and are keen to hear from people with experience who want to be part of modernising the property market and driving innovation. "We’re committed to making the moving process better, faster, and more secure for everyone involved, and we’re in it for the long term. We’re looking forward to welcoming successful candidates who share our vision. "The market conditions mean that auction is helping support buyers with quick sales to make Stamp Duty savings and is the current focus of our recruitment efforts. However, we will be creating opportunities in multiple areas of the business as we continue to realise our ecosystem vision to drive real change in the property market." Plans to increase headcount at iamproperty follow several years of the growth, including 2023's investment from private equity backer Perwyn in a deal believed to have topped £100m. Iamproperty was founded by Jamie Cooke and Ben Ridgway in 2009 as they spotted a gap in the market for a property auction service that benefited estate agents and buyers.

Google faces UK antitrust probe in crackdown on Big Tech dominance

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has initiated an investigation into Google to determine if its search and advertising services are producing fair outcomes within the UK. Today, the watchdog declared the commencement of its inaugural "strategic market status designation investigation" under the new Strategic Market Status (SMS) regime that came into effect on 1 January this year, as reported by City AM. The inquiry will scrutinise the effects of Google’s services on UK consumers and businesses, including publishers, search engine rivals, and advertisers. With Google's search services commanding over 90 per cent of search queries in the UK, the CMA emphasised the importance of ensuring these services benefit both businesses and consumers. "Millions of people and businesses across the UK rely on Google’s search and advertising services – with 90 per cent of searches happening on their platform and more than 200,000 UK businesses advertising there," said Sarah Cardell, CMA Chief Executive. "That’s why it’s so important to ensure these services are delivering good outcomes for people and businesses and that there is a level playing field, especially as AI has the potential to transform search services." The investigation aims to guarantee that individuals enjoy access to diverse services and full control over their data, while also fostering innovative services and preventing biased content, according to the CMA. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK is set to initiate a probe with the objective of maintaining competitive advertisement costs, reducing consumer prices, and affording emerging enterprises an opportunity to vie with established tech entities. The CMA has indicated its intent to conclude the inquiry within approximately nine months. "It’s our job to ensure people get the full benefit of choice and innovation in search services and get a fair deal – for example in how their data is collected and stored," said Cardell. "And for businesses, whether you are a rival search engine, an advertiser or a news organisation, we want to ensure there is a level playing field for all businesses, large and small, to succeed." This investigation is part of a wider effort to rein in big tech firms, as signified by Google's 2024 court defeat in the US over claims that it unlawfully sustained its internet search monopoly.

Tyneside tech firm Leighton moves to new city centre offices

North East software development company Leighton has relocated its regional headquarters to a prime office scheme in Newcastle city centre. Leighton, which specialises in building software products and optimising processes for customers, had been based at The Core at Newcastle Helix, but has now moved its head office to the 14-storey Bank House in Pilgrim Street. The company has taken space within the Cubo offices, the top two floors of the building that the flexible workspace provider opened up last year. Leighton reached a significant milestone as it celebrates the growth of its team to 100 colleagues following another year of sustained growth. The office – the first site for Cubo in the North East – gives members a 360-degree panoramic view of the city’s skyline. The company said it saw a 31% increase in revenue during its 2024 financial year and is set for another year of record performance at the end of the 2025 financial year, with projected growth in the double figures, through its work with customers including British Airways, Atom Bank, Equans, IAG Loyalty and Greggs. James Bunting, CEO at Leighton, said the relocation reinforces its commitment to maintaining headquarters in the North East while supporting its growing hybrid workforce, who will be able to take advantage of Cubo’s national network of locations. Mr Bunting said: “This transition marks a significant milestone for Leighton, as we continue to invest in an environment where our team and customers can come together to thrive, collaborate and innovate. Access to Cubo’s office network across the UK is important to us as it will ensure all of our team will have access to spaces where great work happens, and our culture comes to life. It also reflects our ongoing commitment to retaining a headquarters in the North East and supporting the growing tech sector in the region.” Last year the business made key strategic appointments, which included welcoming Lee Gilmore as principal solutions architect, and Clare Gledhill as chief consulting officer to lead on the company’s consultancy offering. Mr Gilmore added: “The tech sector in the North East is a growing hub and we’re only going to see more focus, business, and talent around what is already a thriving sector. It’s great to be working with like-minded individuals who are so invested in cultivating and growing the amazing talent already working in the region.”

Dyson to move workforce out of Bristol and scrap tech hub plans

Engineering giant Dyson is planning to move its workforce out of Bristol and is scrapping plans for a tech and research hub in the city - despite investing £100m in a new building. The company, best known for its bagless vacuum cleaners, will relocate 180 staff to its large campus in Wiltshire. It will mean all of Dyson's South West employees are based in one location. Dyson's Malmesbury base is home to the Dyson Institute, where 185 undergraduate and postgraduate engineers study while working for the company. The move comes despite a major investment by Dyson into a previously planned research and development hub in Bristol. The company, which currently rents office space on College Green, purchased and carried out a top-to-bottom refurbishment of 1 Georges Square in Finzels Reach last year. The £100m Bristol research centre, first announced in 2023, was expected to employ hundreds of extra AI and software engineers as well as the global tech firm’s commercial and e-commerce teams for Great Britain and Ireland. It is understood that Dyson staff will no longer move into the building, but will relocate to Malmesbury instead. The Finzels Reach office block, which is owned by the Dyson family, will be rented out to another employer. Although no date has been set for the relocation to Wiltshire, Business Live understands it will be in spring when the lease on Dyson's rented office expires. Staff members will be given support with the commute to Malmesbury, about 45-minutes' drive away. The news comes less than a year after Dyson announced plans to cut a third of its UK workforce as part of global restructuring. Dyson's chief executive Hanno Kirner said last year the review would ensure the business was "prepared for the future". The campus at Malmesbury was Dyson's head office until 2019 when founder Sir James Dyson moved the company's HQ from the UK to Singapore. The billionaire tycoon has long been a critic of the UK's economic policies and made the decision post-Brexit to move Dyson's headquarters closer to its manufacturing sites and supply chains. Asia also has a free trade agreement with the European Union. Last year, Sir James and his family were revealed to be the richest people in the West of England despite experiencing a fall in their wealth of £2.2bn over the year. According to the Sunday Time Rich List, Britain’s best-known inventor had a fortune of £20.8bn in 2024 - down from £23bn in 2023.

Newcastle lab grown leather specialist BSF secures £50,000 funding to begin manufacturing

Biotech group BSF Enterprise has secured a £50,000 grant that it will use to begin small scale manufacturing of its lab grown leather products. Newcastle University spin-out 3D Bio-Tissues Ltd (3DBT), which is part of the group, has been awarded the sum by Northern Accelerator, a growth support programme that is a collaboration between Durham, Newcastle and Northumbria universities along with the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI). It says the funding will be instrumental in moving the product from the laboratory to small scale production and commercialisation, by paying for external resources. Bosses say the awarding of the grant recognises 3DBT's tissue engineering technology and its potential to be a disruptor in the global leather market. The firm has been working with French fashion brand Maison Amelie Pichard, providing material for the label's handbags and showing it can meet key environmental and ethical challenges in the market. The grant money will be used to conduct market research to spot high-growth opportunities and identify revenue streams in key sectors including fashion automotive. A "technology roadmap" will be created to set out the steps needed towards a growable manufacturing process, including addressing technical risks, and will provide a plan for developing a pilot factory - a move which 3DBT says will be a pivotal milestone in moving from innovation to commercial scalability. The grant is just the latest in a string of funding awards for London Stock Exchange-listed BSF Enterprise, which also owns Kerato, Lab-Grown Leather Ltd and a Hong Kong subsidiary. Earlier this month the group raised £500,000 in an oversubscribed share placing which it said would give it an operational cash runway of more than 12 months to help execute its plans. Dr Che Connon, CEO and founder of 3DBT, said: "This grant award is a pivotal moment for 3DBT. It enables us to accelerate the commercialisation of our lab-grown leather technology and underscores the growing recognition of its transformative potential. With this support, we are well-positioned to deliver a sustainable and scalable alternative to traditional leather." 3DBT says its technology is uniquely positioned to meet demand in the global leather market which was valued at $32.26bn in 2022 and is expected to grow to $47.89bn by 2031.

County Durham firm braves Dragons' Den in bid to secure investment

A County Durham couple will become the latest regional business to brave the Dragons’ Den this week. Zara Paul and Aaron Morris are the founders of Choppity, a Belmont Business Park company behind a web-based AI video editing platform which is set to appear on the new series of the BBC pitching programme on Thursday in a bid to secure investment for their start-up. The co-founders and married couple only launched Choppity in 2023 with a vision to simplify the video-editing process for podcasters and businesses. The platform, which was founded in Durham, is already used in production by companies including ITN, Autotrader, Turtle Bay, and Sonatype, with features including AI subtitles, in which Choppity instantly adds subtitles to podcast clips, and Magic Reframe, which instantly turns a landscape podcast into a portrait or square one to make sure every speaker’s face can be seen. Before taking on the Dragons, the pair said their number one target for investment was entrepreneur and host of one of the world’s most listened-to podcasts, Diary of a CEO, Steven Bartlett. Zara proudly represents the LGBTQ+ community as an openly non-binary contestant, and said the experience was “important and deeply personal”. Zara said: “It was an unforgettable moment to be in that room, presenting something we’ve worked so hard on. The setup felt incredibly stripped back - just the two of us and a screen in front of the five established entrepreneurs. It was both nerve-wracking and exhilarating. “The startup world, and the media more broadly, often feel bare of LGBTQ+ representation, especially for gender non-conforming and trans founders. I hope this moment inspires others to pursue their ambitions and know they belong here too.” In a LinkedIn post the firm said: “After months of secrecy, we’re so excited to finally reveal the news. Watch the episode this Thursday 16th January, 8pm on BBC 1 to find out what the Dragons thought of Choppity. For those that have been following our company’s journey for a while, I hope you have fun watching this episode! “We’re extremely grateful for the opportunity to showcase Choppity on a national stage. To all of our users, customers and supporters, thank you for helping us get here.”

2025 predictions for Apple, Amazon, Meta, Tesla and other tech titans - what to expect

The 'Magnificent Seven' tech giants, namely Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla, saw a combined growth of 63 per cent in 2024, building on the strong performance of 2023. Deutsche Bank disclosed that these companies generated more profit in 2024 than most national stock markets, as reported by City AM. However, JP Morgan has predicted a decline in their contribution to S&P 500 earnings growth from 75 to 33 per cent in the coming year, indicating potential challenges. Will they maintain their market dominance this year? Here's an analysis of their prospects for 2025: Apple, a much-loved brand, reported robust sales in 2024, with its privacy features and ecosystem retaining customer loyalty. However, service growth fell short of expectations, and innovation in hardware seemed subdued. Susannah Streeter, Head of Money and Markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, suggests that the company's focus on AI could steer it in a new direction in 2025. Despite a five per cent cumulative revenue growth over the past three years, the consensus is for seven per cent growth in 2025, keeping expectations high. However, its stock has only risen 41 per cent over the past three years, underperforming the 51 per cent increase in the information technology index. Microsoft, meanwhile, cemented its place at the heart of the AI revolution in 2024, with Azure revenue up by 34 per cent, as per Streeter. The integration of AI tools like Copilot across its software suite has impressed analysts. In the forthcoming year, cloud computing competition and increased regulatory scrutiny could challenge its growth trajectory, yet the discontinuation of Windows 10 support might trigger an upgrade cycle, according to Dan Niles, founder of AlphaOne Capital Partners. He recently expressed on LinkedIn that the termination of Windows 10 "could also lead to some upgrades in their core PC business while a ramp in AI PC demand is a hope for some point in the future". Amazon's Cloud AWS remained a key growth driver in 2024, with a 19 per cent revenue increase as global AI adoption soared. E-commerce margins saw a rebound following the company's cost-reduction strategies. Streeter noted, "margins have recovered after the huge cost-saving drive with worldwide layoffs." Amazon may emerge as the top performer for 2025, having surpassed both revenue and margin expectations in the latest quarter. However, Nile pointed out the potential for a challenging start to 2025 due to uncertain consumer spending patterns, fewer shopping days, and less favourably timed holidays. For Meta, the tech behemoth's strategic downsizing yielded positive results in 2024, evidenced by a five per cent increase in daily active users. Its investment in AI has improved ad targeting and content curation, bolstering advertiser trust. Yet, the question remains whether Meta can maintain its growth momentum into 2025 without the previous year's tailwinds from political elections or major events like the Olympics, which had contributed to heightened user engagement. "If its revenue doesn’t keep up", warned Streeter, "margins may come under pressure, deterring its investors". Alphabet, the parent company of Google, also posted strong results in 2024, driven by its cloud business and AI advancements. However, the ongoing case by the US Department of Justice against Google’s search monopoly casts a shadow over the firm’s 2025 outlook. Sundar Pichai, the Chief Executive, highlighted the importance of utilising AI to accelerate progress and solve real-world problems. The company made headlines towards the end of 2024, as Pichai prepared his employees for an important, "pivotal" year ahead, while also alerting them to potential challenges. Tesla begins to lose momentum. Tesla experienced a surge of optimism in 2024, with its stock increasing by 63 per cent, partially due to Elon Musk’s advisory role in the Trump administration. However, a decrease in EV demand and the potential loss of tax credits in 2025 could impact the company’s sales. Therefore, Tesla's ability to scale production of its affordable electric vehicles and expand self-driving capabilities will be crucial for 2025. Nvidia was largely the leader of the Magnificent Seven group in 2024, overtaking Apple as the world’s most valuable company with its shares rising by 171 per cent amid surging AI demand. Despite taking a slight hit at the end of 2024, according to Investopedia, the firm’s sales and earnings flourished. Moreover, Nvidia's Blackwell super chip and dominance in AI infrastructure are positioned for continued growth in 2025.