1. Adding Value through Partnerships: the
MedCity Experience
Professor Simon Howell
Founding Non-Executive Director, MedCity
Director of Academic Estates Strategy for Health Campuses, King’s College London

2. Within London and the Golden Triangle (London,
Oxford, Cambridge) there is the greatest
concentration of biomedical research capacity in
Europe.
Largest health charity in Europe (Wellcome Trust).
Largest Biomedical Research centre in Europe
(Francis Crick Institute); Sanger Institute.
Independently ranked as the most research
intensive and fastest growing research cluster in
Europe by far.
Major I.T centre of Europe (Google, Cisco,
Microsoft etc – Tech City) – growing convergence.
But only 10% of inward investment of Boston.

3. The founding members are London’s three
Academic Health Science Centres
 Kings Health Partners
 Imperial College AHSC
 UCLPartners
In conjunction with the office of the Mayor of
London and now in partnership with Oxford
and science centres and institutions across
Cambridge and the broader south-east.
Led by an independent board comprised of
leaders of the major health research
institutions and NHS.
Who set MedCity up?

4. What does MedCity do?
Catalyse an entrepreneurial culture by championing new areas of
collaboration, and fostering a commercial mind-set in the research
community –both domestically and internationally.
 Bring scientists and businesses of all backgrounds together around
potential areas of collaboration and development
 Assist overseas companies in navigating the major scientific resources that
exist in the south-east – we help make the connections.
 Promote and grow innovation, seed funding, Angel Funding, VC funding.
 Provide guidance on the UK market, accessing the NHS, regulatory
compliance and lessons learned from others.
 Facilitate greater international linkages in the BioSciences and MedTech
fields.
 Link companies to some of the worlds best medical researchers in fields
that matter to both.

5. Brexit and that stuff
A world leading life-sciences powerhouse built on a longstanding and solid
foundations of international scientific excellence.
 Cambridge University Founded 1209
 Oxford University Founded 1167
 Imperial College – Founded in 1907
 University College London – Founded in 1826
 Kings College London – Founded in 1829
These institutions are not decamping to mainline Europe.
They need clear commitment to free movement of scientists, ideas exchange and
colloboration. Needs continuing access to Horizon 2020, IMI etc.
Global collaborations in all domains of life-sciences including regenerative medicine
and high end medical technologies will continue: ‘Follow the Science’.

6. What will success look like?
More clinical trials and better recruitment
Corporates and small companies heading to London for early
stage development, manufacture; for trials and SMEs
collaborating with academia and the NHS
More spinouts and more of them staying in London: inward
investment
Global companies moving research facilities to the Golden
Training
Community of life science investors
New, skilled and high-value jobs in London
New therapies and technologies available for patients, faster

7. CASE STUDY ONE: COLLABORATE TO
INNOVATE
Overview
 “Collaborate to Innovate” promotes collaboration
between SMEs and universities, for knowledge transfer
and commercialisation of innovations in life & health
sciences
 Focuses on the relative lack of investment in research
and innovation by SMEs, due to funding constraints and
lack of awareness of the relevant expertise available
 Addresses a well documented market failure; SMEs
want to work with top London HEIs; but find the process
complicated and inefficient.

8. Overview
 We will support up to 15 collaborative research projects
between SMEs and Academics, up to £100K each.
 Projects are SME-driven and can be in various domains
such as devices, diagnostics, digital health, and drug
discovery.
 SMEs will be matched with academics with
complementary expertise
 The project costs will be borne by the fund, and no
contribution is required from the SME

9. Rationale
 Our scheme is driven by the needs of the SME being
met rather than them having to try to fit their plans to a
particular call
 It removes the requirement for matched funding by the
SME
 Ensures every SME innovation/applied research need
has been evaluated and decided to be worth
collaborating on by academic expertise
 Does not duplicate any existing schemes and is
complimentary to the national schemes.

10. Inputs
 £1.5M for staff time and eligible expenditure to support
15 collaborative research project
 £0.6M for management, support, marketing,
communication, dissemination
50% ERDF
50% Higher Education Funding Council for England

11. Impacts
 Improving competitiveness of London SMEs in the global
healthcare space
 Promotion of business investment in life sciences
research and innovation as well as technology transfer.

12. Comparator Study
Maps – London
Location Name Planned Additional Space
(sq. ft.) (2016-17)
Potential Additional Space
(sq. ft.) (2018-20)
1 British Library Site 700,000
2 White City Campus 181,000 355,000+
3 Royal London Hospital Whitechapel 50,000+
4 Royal Street, St Thomas’ Hospital 10,000+
5 Olympicopolis/Pudding Mill 50,000+
6 Royal Marsden/ICR Sutton 900,000+
7 Clare Hall 129,791
Total 181,000 2,144,791
CASE STUDY TWO: INCUBATOR SPACE
DEMAND STUDY

13. Comparator Study
Maps – New York
Location Name Current Space (sq. ft.) Potential Space (sq. ft.)
1 Harlem Biospace 2,500 15,000
2 Alexandria Centre for Life Sciences 718,000 350,000
3 Audubon Biomedical and Technology
Centre
60,000
4 BioBAT 38,000 85,000
5 SUNY Downstate Advanced Biotech
Incubator
50,000
Total 868,500 450,000
(London 181,000 2,144,791)n

14. Comparator Study
Maps – Paris
Location Name Current Space (sq. ft.) Potential Space (sq. ft.)
1 Paris Biotech Sante 13,000
2 Agoranov 25,000
3 iPEPS Bioincubator 11,000
4 Villejuif BioPark 57,000
5 Biocitech 215,000
6 Genopole campus 1,100,000
Total 1,421,000
No current
known plans
(London 181,000 2,144,791)n

15. Comparator Study
Maps – Berlin
Location Name Current Space (sq. ft.) Potential Space (sq. ft.)
1 Berlin BioTech Park Circa 700,000 300,000
2 CoLaborator (Bayer) 9,000
3 Campus Berlin Buch 301,000 Circa 70,000
4 Wulheuide Innovation Park 570,000
5 Berlin Adlershof and IGZ Innovations-
Zentrum
736,000 Circa 50,000
6 Potsdam Biotech Campus 123,000
7 GO:IN Innovation Centre 43,000
8 Dahlem site Circa 50,000
Total 1,922,000 470,000
(London 181,000 2,144,791)n

16. Comparator Study
Maps – Boston
Location Name Current Space (sq. ft.) Potential Space (sq. ft.)
1 University Park 1,700,000 250,000
2 Lab Central 28,000 60,000
3 Cambridge BioLabs 10,000
4 Technology Square 1,158,000
5 Cambridge Innovation Centre 500,000
6 BioSquare 700,000
7 Umass Venture Development Centre 18,000
8 Mass Innovation Labs 124,000
Total 4,238,000 310,000
(London 181,000 2,144,791)n

17. Comparator Study
Maps – Boston
Bay Area
Location Name Current Space (sq. ft.) Potential Space (sq. ft.)
1 Cambridge 11,700,000 2,200,000
2 Boston 721,000
3 Inner North 172,000
4 Inner South 1,600,000
5 North I28 2,800,000
6 West I28 1,100,000
7 South I28 668,000
Total 18,760,000 2,200,000
(London 181,000 2,144,791)n

18. Demand Study Conclusions
 London starts from a low base for Incubation space.
 Substantial growth is planned, which if delivered will rival
Europe’s best : Paris, Berlin, also New York.
 Boston is streets ahead.
MedCity is using ‘Golden Triangle’ as a geographical
template for incubator space going forward

19. Summary
 MedCity is just over two years old
 It is a thriving infant, with significant early wins: e.g.
Collaborate to Innovate; Demand Study; Oxford and
Cambridge joining.
 A major change has been the realisation that ‘the
competition’ is not in North or West London, but in
Boston, California, Singapore, Shanghai.
 Behaviours and priorities have changed in response to
this.

20. www.medcityhq.com
office@medcityhq.com or
simon.howell@kcl.ac.uk

21. www.medcityhq.com
office@medcityhq.com or
simon.howell@kcl.ac.uk