ONE supports life sciences entrepreneurs | ONE

Scotland’s £6 billion life sciences industry is growing by more than 10% a year and employs 2,500 people in and around Aberdeen. ONE-led action and investment to double the size of the region’s company cluster will generate value and jobs for the health and wellbeing economy.

Eight people, including academics and researchers from the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University, have now started their commercialisation journeys to take innovation to market to change healthcare delivery and improve patient outcomes.

Fully funded by ONE and delivered by BioCity, the eight-week accelerator uses lean start-up tools to investigate customers, refine value propositions, and evaluate risks to create business models that stand up to scrutiny from investors, partners and customers.

Fourteen people developing nine businesses have already completed accelerators. ONE continues to work with them, supporting the founders with start-up and company growth.

The accelerator is part of ONE’s work with partners to put Aberdeen at the heart of UK life sciences commercialisation. ONE leads the delivery of the £40 million BioHub project on the Foresterhill Health campus as the place for spinout and start-up, scaling and established businesses to locate and grow. BioHub is part-funded by the UK Government and Scottish Government via the Aberdeen City Region Deal and by ONE.

Lorna Duguid, development director – life sciences at ONE, said: “The events of the past year underline the critical importance of the health and wellbeing economy.

“The life sciences community is producing exciting research and ideas to address pressing global health challenges including cancer, diabetes and dementia. The accelerator equips academics and researchers with the knowledge and tools to turn their innovation into growing businesses that provide new, high-value jobs and broaden our future economy.

“Doubling the size of the company cluster in Aberdeen is critical to post-Covid recovery. Achieving industry’s ambition will deliver value for patients and value for the economy.”