World leading research
London is the destination of choice for global life science research and development, with an unrivalled ecosystem of world class universities, global pharmaceuticals companies and health research institutes.
London’s leading life science research institutes
University College London
- Ranked 9th university globally, and UK university of the year
- £527m invested in a deprived London borough in 2023
- 70,000 collaborative research papers with top 5 knowledge producing countries
- Over 400 new graduate businesses and 60 spin outs started at UCL
- AI firm, Synthesia was co-founded by a UCL scientist, becoming a $1bn unicorn in 2023
- 400,000 alumni in 190 countries worldwide
- 30 Nobel Prize Laureates amongst alumni and staff
- 90 UCL alumni have been named in Forbes 30 under 30
- Five UCL spinouts listed on the Nasdaq, collectively raising around $796m
- £2.9bn external investment in spinouts *HEBCI 2014-2022
King’s College London
- Ranked 11th globally for life sciences & medicine
- 93% of research rated world-leading or internationally excellent
- £236m research income, and £280 m new grants and contracts awarded in 2022-23
- 33,000 students from 190 countries, and 250,000 alumni across the world
- £45.5m to be invested in talent, research, education and infrastructure
Imperial College London
- Ranked 2nd university globally, and 1st for graduate prospects in the UK
- Greatest concentration of high-impact research of any UK University
- £995m research grants and contracts balance at year end 2023, >£500 m in research income in 2023
- 23,000 students, 250,000 alumni in 213 countries
- 14 Nobel Laureates and 3 Fields Medallists among alumni
- £800m investment raised and 284 start-ups over the past 5 years
- Imperial research collaborators in 192 countries
Queen Mary University of London
- One of 24 leading research intensive universities in the UK.
- £133.8m research income in 2023 (excluding capital grants)
- 92% of research recognised as internationally excellent or world-leading
- Total economic impact of over £4.4bn
- Every £1 spent generated £7 in the wider economy
- Supported 13,865 full-time jobs including 7,390 in London
- 33,000 students from 170 nationalities
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Ranked 1st globally for tropical medicine, 2nd for parasitology, 3rd for public health and 4th for infectious disease research
- Ranked 1st in the UK for Research Excellence Framework (REF) impact measure, and for international research collaborations
- Recipient of the Queen’s Prize for response to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Top UK institution providing world-leading environment for public health research
- Over £130,000 in new research grants 2022-2023, with research conducted in over 100 countries
- 3,700 postgraduate students, including 2,500 distance learners
Institute of Cancer Research
- Ranked 2nd in the UK for research
- 21 drug candidates discovered since 2005, more than any other academic centre globally
- 100 active partnerships with companies
- One of the largest phase 1 clinical trials centres in the world
- 79% of ICR’s non-clinical students take up scientific research roles within a year
- £21.1m raised in charitable funding in 2021-2022
- 441 students and 1,155 staff, with one third from outside the UK
Royal Veterinary College
- Ranked 1st veterinary school globally
- 88% of research rated as internationally excellent or world-class in the Research Excellence Framework (REF)
- Small animal referrals hospital is the largest and most highly regarded teaching hospital in Europe, treating over 17,000 cases per year
- The largest and most long-established veterinary school in the English-speaking world
- 98.1% employability post-course with 2,000 students currently enrolled
Francis Crick Institute
- Europe’s largest biomedical research facility
- Established through a collaboration between the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, University College London, Imperial College London and King’s College London
- Supports over 100 research groups and 2,000 staff and students
3 of the top 15
global universities for clinical and health research
1st in Europe
for phase 1 trials initiated in 2024-2025
20
physiology or medicine Nobel laureates, the 2nd highest output globally
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