A truly Golden Triangle for Life Sciences

Recognising the strain this has placed on One Nucleus members seeking to undertake research, development and commercialisation of life-changing innovations within our cluster, the period since the pandemic has seen us add additional activities targeted at enhancing the narrative and access to US investment, deals and customers.

Initial focus was on the Greater Boston cluster, accepting that by almost every metric, Massachusetts sits at the top of the Life Science cluster league table.

Previous reflections on the similarities and differences between Cambridge UK and Cambridge MA led me to think that whilst the two may well be related, with innovation and collaboration embedded in their DNA, they were far from identical twins when it came to scale, financing and product development in the two clusters.

The recent BIO International Convention was held this year on the West Coast in San Diego and provided another opportunity to reflect on where our region sits in the world of Life Science business and innovation.

Whilst the Southern California ‘June Gloom’ weather to an extent mirrored the still harsh investment climate being observed everywhere, the afternoon blue skies did illustrate the belief that recovery was on the way.

The dynamics of the San Diego cluster felt extremely reminiscent of our own Greater Cambridge version; small and community-like enough to feel personal yet a growing track-record of successful business creation, translational research and growth.

Whilst much attention is paid to the UK Golden Triangle of London-Cambridge-Oxford and how to connect it better, perhaps in a global industry such as this then a more suitable triangle to connect would be Cambridge-Boston/Cambridge-San Diego. This in no way implies there isn’t excellence and success outside that triangle, one cannot ignore locations such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, North Carolina, Pennsylvania/New Jersey, Oxford, London, Manchester or indeed looking East from UK. Yet the synergies, existing bridges and mutual opportunities form a compelling and meaningful Golden Triangle from which life science innovators, entrepreneurs and investors can succeed.

So why do these three globally renowned clusters fit with each other? To a large extent, it’s the shared characteristics of being innovation hubs with a strong sense of community, connectivity and collaboration – the presence of world-class academic centres such as Scripps Institute, MIT or MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology whose innovations have underpinned numerous company formations in these clusters.

Seasoned talent pools exist in each of these hubs, where exits through M & A or corporate restructurings have released experienced people to lead another wave of spin-out companies. Cambridge Antibody Technology, IDEC Pharma and Genzyme spring to mind.

There are differences locally perhaps in terms of the ecosystems driven by depth of company portfolio for investors to compete over. One might expect the Greater Boston cluster for instance with its density and scale of innovation activity and investment to see more very similar companies on offer to investors than Cambridge UK or San Diego.

This may allow for less of a sense of urgency in the latter two, affording innovators in the less busy hubs to move at a steady pace to validate forefront technologies and build value.

There is a downside to being a smaller hub, however, since while there may be more similar companies in Greater Boston there are also more investors and deal partners nearby, so maybe that sense of urgency brings energy to the system.

There are certainly lessons to be shared across these three outstanding Life Science hubs. One Nucleus, through its longstanding collaborations with its peers at MassBio and Biocom California, the Bio Brits in US connections and focused activities such as the 2024 Boston Bootcamp and One Nucleus @ BIO 2024 events is playing its role in increasing the connectivity and knowledge-sharing across this amazing triangle of locations.

If UK-based companies have aspirations to successfully commercialise their innovative products, platforms and tools, it seems inevitable that will involve accessing the US investment and R & D market.

On the flip side, the benefits to East or West Coast companies accessing the high-quality innovation emanating from this region are numerous. Enhancing the frequency, efficiency and effectiveness of the dialogue across this Golden Triangle will surely lead to increased Transatlantic deal flow and a scaling of business in all locations.

For our UK cluster this will deepen the pool of leaders with scale-up experience, provide US investors with the confidence required to broaden their UK-based portfolios and deliver traction to translate great innovation into globally significant patient benefit as new products and technologies make their way to the bedside.

The conversation will continue at the ON Helix conference, fittingly enough on 4 July, American Independence Day, where the Boston Bootcamp winners will share their insights gained and plans are already afoot for a return One Nucleus member delegation to Boston in September this year to incorporate a pitching day within Biotech Week Boston. Watch this space!