British Business Bank to enable up to £600m of new funding for the UK’s world-leading health technologies and life-sciences sector

Press release 09 October 2019

The Government has announced a new dedicated investment programme of up to £600m to unlock the potential of the UK’s best health and life science innovations, allowing companies to grow and ensure the UK remains a world-leader in life sciences innovation.

While the UK has one of the most successful health and life sciences industries in the world, contributing almost £74bn a year and close to a quarter of a million jobs across the country, companies in the sector have historically struggled to access the right sort of finance to fulfil their growth potential.

The funding will comprise £200m of investment through the government-owned British Business Bank, with private sector investment expected to contribute around a further £400m, creating high quality jobs and helping UK patients benefit from more ground-breaking treatments and care.

We welcome this new dedicated funding from the government, which will enable us to build further our support for innovation and growth in this important sector. Life sciences and digital health businesses represent an important growth opportunity for the UK. They are strongly represented in our existing portfolio through our British Patient Capital and Enterprise Capital Funds programmes, which currently support over 100 UK-based companies in the sector. - Keith Morgan CEO of the British Business Bank

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