Life sciences
Life sciences is the scientific study of living organisms such as humans, animals and plants, and includes industries such as pharmaceuticals, medical research and medical technologies.
Scotland’s life sciences sector is a major contributor to Scotland's economy, providing 51,000 jobs across more than 700 businesses and higher education institutions. Alongside its economic impact, the sector plays a vital role in improving the health and wellbeing of people and animals in Scotland and around the world.
Life sciences is one of Scotland’s identified growth sectors and features prominently in both Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation (March 2022) and the National Innovation Strategy (June 2023). This reflects our commitment to nurture and expand the sector.
Life Sciences Scotland
Life Sciences Scotland (LSS) is the Industry Leadership Group (ILG) for the sector. LSS meets quarterly and its membership includes Scottish Ministers and leaders from industry, academia, trade bodies, the NHS and Scotland’s enterprise agencies.
LSS provides a forum for Ministers and sector leaders to discuss key opportunities and challenges and to work together to ensure the continued growth and success of Scotland’s life sciences ecosystem.
Life sciences strategy
LSS leads the development and delivery of Scotland’s life sciences strategy through a series of dedicated workstreams and sub-groups.
The Life Sciences Strategy for Scotland 2035 Vision, published on 20 November 2025, sets out the ambition to create the world’s most effective environment for developing, testing, manufacturing and commercialising life sciences innovation. This will in turn improve health outcomes and increase the sector’s contribution to Scotland’s economy to £25 billion by 2035.
Economic analysis published in March 2026 shows that the life science sector contributes £10.1 billion to Scotland’s economy, with exports worth £4.9 billion. These figures will be updated as new data becomes available. See the latest available figures. Read more on the Life Science Scotland website.
Supporting life sciences businesses
Support for life sciences businesses in Scotland is delivered primarily through our enterprise agencies:
Regional Innovation Hubs are also supporting life sciences businesses to collaborate with the NHS and give them the opportunity to evidence the potential impact of their technology which helps them grow. They can do this through access to expertise, governance and technical capabilities such as trusted research environments.
Contact
Email: lifesciences@gov.scot