North East England

North East England has a thriving healthcare economy which is worth £4bn and employs 172,000 people. Strengths lie in the fields of ageing and health; stem cells & regenerative medicine; biologics and diagnostics & regenerative medical services.

North East England’s healthcare and life science industry is one of the key sectors for local economic growth. The North East is committed to the growth and development of the sector and is becoming one of the top 10 places in the world to do science-based business.

"Over the last six years, more than £200m has been invested in developing world-leading expertise in emerging technologies."

The growing business base ranges from multinational pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, the world's second largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, to innovative start ups such as Durham University spin-out ReInnervate, which facilitates research into cell growth. Other global businesses include Avecia Life Sciences and Proctor and Gamble and rich sub clusters of companies in medical devices, assistive technology and health informatics.

Expertise also lies within the five universities in North East England; Durham University, Newcastle University, Northumbria University, the University of Sunderland and Teesside University.  The five universities have a combined 17 academic departments within bioscience related fields rated 4* - world-leading research, the highest award in the RAE (Research Assessment Exercise) 2009.

Durham University ranks 8th in the Times University UK League Table, as published in the Good University Guide 2010. Newcastle University ranks 7th in the subject of medicine, Durham University and Newcastle University Rank highly in the subject of biological science and Teesside University ranks highly in the subject of nursing.