Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst – a hothouse for innovation

Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is a leading location for companies to develop and commercialise cutting edge therapeutics. It is uniquely well placed to drive innovation situated at the heart of the golden research triangle of London-CambridgeOxford.

The campus is home to GSK’s two main global research and development facilities, the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Centre, LifeArc and Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst. This co-location of R&D and manufacturing facilities enables companies to move from start-up to scale up to the development of potentially life-saving therapeutics.

With over 160,000 sq ft of lab and office space offered at highly competitive prices, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is home to a growing cluster of start-up companies that together have raised £3bn to date. The total private equity investment in biotechnology raised in Stevenage has grown to become comparable with that of Cambridge, London and Oxford, securing Life Science Opportunity Zone and High Potential Opportunity status and contributing to the Government’s ambition for the UK to become a ‘science superpower’. As demand for lab space outgrows supply, the campus is expanding with planning approval secured by UBS Management and Reef Group (Reef) to create one of Europe’s largest life science sites in Stevenage. The £900m life science campus will provide 1.6 million sq. ft of lab, office and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) facilities working alongside global pharma R&D, cell and gene clustering excellence and the vibrant ecosystem at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst. This ecosystem of business and scientific support enables organisations at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst to connect and grow. The Lab Hotel, provides early stage start-ups rent-free lab space for six months. Young companies are also given access to mentors advisers, grant specialists and investors, while programmes, such as the SBC Catalyser Programme, help therapeutics and tech-bio companies refine their commercialisation strategy.

Wrapped around this is a collaborative environment offering roundtable discussions, networking events, occupier lunches and an established SBC community – all designed to help start-ups to scale up and achieve their growth potential.