Northern Ireland is a prime location for life and health sciences businesses, thanks to a unique combination of talented people, world-class research and strong links between industry, academia and clinicians, in the commercialisation of innovative research.
With a long history in health innovation dating over 40 years to Professor Pantridge who pioneered the first portable defibrillator, to recent spin-out success from local universities, Queen's University and Ulster University.
The region is well connected and offers a highly-skilled, experienced and adaptable workforce; a cost-competitive location; and a pro-business environment, with local Government committed to support business growth. Recent government investment includes £1.3b which has been earmarked through City and Growth deals - offering exciting future opportunities for healthcare in Northern Ireland:
- Centre for Digital Healthcare Technology (CDHT)
- Institute of Research Excellence for Advanced Clinical Healthcare (iREACH Health)
- Global Innovation Institute (GII)
- The Personalised Medicine Centre
- Centre for Food and Drug Discovery
Read more about the City and Growth deals
Northern Ireland offers a single point of contact for companies and investors, HIRANI, an alliance of universities, healthcare providers and industry supporting growth of the Life & Health Sciences sector.
Areas of expertise
Precision medicine
Area of sector expertise
- Biomarker discovery and validation
- Molecular diagnostics
- Clinical diagnostics
- Ideal location to develop, test, validate and commercialise innovative biomarker assays and precision diagnostics in an agile and collaborative life science environment.
- Well established scientific research base with researchers at the forefront of technology in health data analytics.
- Large cluster of companies within precision medicine capabilities across the drug development value chain helping shorten timelines and decrease resource requirement.
- Access to an integrated healthcare system that is committed to the future of Precision Medicine.
- HSC Northern Ireland is a participant in SAPHIRe, an EU Horizon 2020 funded project supporting implementation of Precision Medicine.
- Precision Medicine Centre based at Queen’s University Belfast: clinical laboratory bringing together high-throughput genomics, digital pathology and big data analytics.
Pharma & Biotech
Area of sector expertise
- Drug development
- Biomarker discovery and validation
- Biomedical research
- Strong, connected and collaborative setting as global pharma companies such as Almac Group, Randox, Norbrook, TEVA and Terumo work alongside academia, health organisations and Government to maximise opportunities from research - manufacturing - sales.
- Northern Ireland’s pharmaceutical sector has achieved strides in biomedical research, including developments in cancer, cardiovascular disease and cystic fibrosis research.
- Pharmaceutical sector in Northern Ireland supports 7,800 FTE jobs and generates £310m in GVA.
- Home to globally recognised companies such as Randox, Almac Group, TEVA and CV6 Therapeutics.
Clinical trials
Area of sector expertise
- Statistics
- Modeling
- Digital health
- Regulatory
- Opportunity to target a relatively small population of 1.8m for clinical trials.
- Northern Ireland Electronic Care Record (NIECR) makes it possible to access digital health from cradle to grave.
- Innovative companies offering statistics and modeling to support clinical trials using next generation stimulation and data analytics.
- Strong integrated eco-system offering linkages between clinical, academia and industry.
Diagnostics
Area of sector expertise
- Research and development
- Medical testing solutions
- Clinical diagnostic tests
- Respiratory
- Oncology
- Strong capability in the development of assay kits, biomarker discovery with a particular specialism in respiratory and oncology.
- Ability to develop rapid molecular diagnostic tests within a short timeframe.
- Strengths in data analytics and use of Artificial Intelligence.
Med-tech
Area of sector expertise
- Innovative healthcare solutions
- Non- invasive neurostimulation
- Ventilation equipment
- Neonatal and perioperative care
- Internationally accredited companies involved in cutting-edge technologies to provide healthcare solutions / improvements.
- Manufacturer location for wide-ranging novel medical devices targeting a range of health challenges including non-invasive neurostimulation products to ventilation equipment in neonatal and perioperative care.
- Long history in health innovation dating back over 40 years.
Watch our life and health science sector animation
Northern Ireland for foreign direct investment
Northern Ireland is an attractive place for investment in the life and health sciences sector thanks to a combination of factors including skills availability, excellent infrastructure, cost-effectiveness and a supportive business environment. To learn more visit our Invest in Northern Ireland page.
Get in touch
Connect with a member of our Life and Health Sciences team via LinkedIn.
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Chia-Yi ChengSenior Regional Officer, Trade and Investment, Australia & New Zealand - Sydney
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Why Northern Ireland?
Northern Ireland is home to more than 1,500 international companies and is an ideal location for business expansion. We also have experienced exporters whose globally recognised products and services can be found in over 100 countries. -
Technology
Northern Ireland has proven technology experience, capacity and capability. The region enjoys an international reputation as a region of expertise and knowledge in tech development and has one of the fastest growing tech sectors in the UK. -
City and growth deals
Over the next few years, Northern Ireland will benefit from a package of investment from four city and growth deals. The combined funding from the Northern Ireland Executive and UK government will total £1.3bn, which will be complemented by private sector and other sources of funding.