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Results in the real world

Last week I flagged the shift toward real-world impact modelling. We now have a live example. A government backed study from Novo Nordisk, IQVIA and the University of Glasgow, supported by Dundee and Edinburgh, to test weight loss medicines in everyday NHS care. The trial will invite 3,000 to 5,000 people from some of Scotland鈥檚 most deprived communities. Outcomes will span clinically meaningful weight loss, quality of life gains for disadvantaged patients, changes in obesity-related illness, NHS utilisation and overall healthcare costs. The study will also track work outcomes, including retention, sick leave, and participation, recognising that better health pays dividends beyond the clinic. AI-driven digital tools will support access, engagement, and data capture.

Several forces are propelling this pivot to real-world trials: richer data access, smarter analytics, payer pressure for value and more permissive regulation. The NHS should be at an advantage here. A single health system offers a uniquely powerful environment for rigorous, equitable, population scale evidence.  Locations with appropriate trial populations and a joined-up clinical, industry and research ecosystem will be best placed to capitalise on this trend. Manchester is a prime example, with integrated data at scale, streamlined governance and delivery, world class clinical and research assets, diverse generalisable trial cohorts and a proven track record in other studies.

Quantum leaps and defence deals 

On defence, Babcock posted a strong performance in defence, with full year underlying operating profit up 17% to £363 million and revenue rising 11% to £4.8 billion. Meanwhile, the UK government signed an £8 billion deal with Turkey for 20 Typhoon fighter jets, in a major export win for the UK defence industry. The deal is expected to sustain 6,000 jobs at BAE Systems sites, including 1,100 roles in the South West and 800 in Scotland. Further strengthening international ties, the UK and Qatar agreed a new defence partnership focused on deeper military cooperation and enhanced interoperability between their forces. In a boost to air capability support, Lockheed Martin UK secured a £264 million contract to maintain Britain鈥檚 F-35 Lightning fleet under a five-year agreement.

A new defence industrial strategy was published in September. It includes £250 million for 鈥渄efence growth deals鈥� in Sheffield, Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, and Plymouth. ADS, the aerospace, defence, and space trade body, found that lifting defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2035 would create about 50,000 additional jobs in the sector. If spending rose to 3.5%, it could support an extra 85,000 direct jobs.

The government is aiming to ensure that contracts and investment does not purely sit with the big players but that it is also distributed to SMEs. As previously discussed, defence extends beyond manufacturing and into cutting-edge R&D.

On quantum, a new report from the Tony Blair Institute warns that the UK must shift from scientific leadership to industrial deployment or risk becoming an incubator for other nations' quantum industries. The paper outlines three strategic imperatives:

1. Build translational engineering capacity to convert world class physics into deployable systems.
2. Mobilise high-risk capital and create early demand through public procurement and targeted fiscal incentives.
3. Secure the extended quantum stack via infrastructure investment, international partnerships, and acceleration towards post-quantum cryptography.

The UK currently ranks third globally in quantum research output, attracts the second largest share of venture capital, and is home to the world鈥檚 second highest number of quantum start-ups. Although the sector remains nascent, it is scaling rapidly. By 2045, quantum adoption is forecast to generate a 7% productivity boost for the UK economy and support over 126,000 jobs. Life sciences are expected to be the largest sectoral beneficiary.

Momentum is building. The UK recently joined a global quantum research consortium and launched five national hubs across Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Oxford, and London as well as creating the National Quantum Computing Centre. The government has also committed to invest £500 million into quantum computing companies over the next four years.

Beauhurst data highlights Cambridge, Westminster, Camden, Islington, and Oxford as the top locations for high-growth quantum firms. There are 207 active quantum companies in the UK. Key players include Oxford Quantum Circuits, Riverlane, Cambridge Quantum Computing, Quantum Motion, and Exohood Labs.

Investment activity continues to accelerate alongside technological breakthroughs signalling growing confidence. IonQ鈥檚 $1.07 billion acquisition of Oxford Ionics was cleared in September, while Oxford Instruments NanoScience is being acquired by Quantum Design in a deal worth £80 million. In parallel, Phasecraft secured $39 million in Series B funding, led by Playground Global and Novo Holdings.  Quantinuum launched Helios, which it describes as the 鈥渨orld鈥檚 most accurate quantum computer鈥�.  A particular focus for the company is the capacity for quantum computing to support generative AI models with quantum generated data. CEO Dr. Rajeeb Hazra has said that quantum generative AI was as big a leap in the technology as the launch of ChatGPT.

Stay tuned for a deeper dive into the UK鈥檚 quantum opportunity in our upcoming Tech Report.

Manchester鈥檚 mission

The University of Manchester has unveiled a new strategy to expand its research and innovation impact, with a focus on tackling society鈥檚 most pressing challenges. On the research front, the university will concentrate on high impact domains including climate resilience, data and AI, and health inequalities, shaping clearer routes from discovery to real-world outcomes, underpinned by state-of-the-art labs, facilities, and technical expertise. Its innovation ambition is equally expansive: to become Europe鈥檚 most inclusive and impactful innovation network. Central to this is a deepened commitment to Greater Manchester and the North, ensuring innovation drives good jobs, improved health, and cultural vitality across the region. Delivery will depend on faster, more open collaboration both within the university and across sectors. Companies seeking academic partners will favour institutions that ease the path while those universities that are turbocharging their innovation initiatives and in turn spinout activity may require additional R&D space.

A week of reports 鈥� Cell and gene therapy update and views from the UK鈥檚 most promising biotech firms

The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult released their annual review. The report shows some gains with 17 UK approved and reimbursed therapies, up from just 7 two years ago. Manufacturing capacity is also expanding, with a total of 56,419 m² of ATMP GMP manufacturing facility space and over a thousand specialists were trained last year. Furthermore, new digital and automation testbeds are helping firms scale up production with robotics and AI. However, the report highlights challenges that include access to funding, capacity, no real uplift in the number of late stage clinical trials and talent gaps.

The mood among the UK鈥檚 Future50 biotech鈥檚 is pragmatic. In PwC鈥檚 survey of 50 of the most promising UK biotech companies, firms report ongoing challenges relating to fundraising and cash management and being least optimistic about government policies and collaboration with the NHS. Some firms are making their money work harder and for longer while on a more positive note others referenced impressions of an improving fundraising environment. Areas of optimism included the ability to collaborate with international academic and research institutions, quality of the UK scientific talent pool, potential use of real-world evidence and UK data assets and the level of M&A activity. In addition, the respondents repeated the now well documented roadblocks to the further growth of UK life sciences and the attractiveness of the UK. For real estate you could conclude the following from the findings:

1. Many biotech鈥檚 are still stretching cash, so expect smaller initial footprints, longer decision making timelines and shorter commitments. Think about ways to make their lives easier such as access to shared equipment.
2. Those that have positive clinical reads and some traction behind them are at this stage best positioned to raise funds. Focus on these targets while not forgetting the need to support smaller biotech鈥檚 to fuel the ecosystem.
3. M&A activity is back on, with clear implications for real estate. Find the companies that are forecast to exit successfully via an M&A and identify those that are hunting for deals.
4. Clusters should promote and enable collaboration activity and access to data sets. As data becomes more important ensure provision of the correct computational and data infrastructure as well as buildings and locations to attract new talent pools.

Other Reads 

The ABPI and the government have agreed to a further two-week extension to the deadline by which companies must give notice if they intend to leave the 2024 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access, and growth (VPAG).

Darktrace announced two changes to its senior leadership team, with a new CFO and Chief Revenue Officer. The company is scaling its global operations.

Rome-based Aavantgarde raised $143 million in a  led by  . The company recently acquired space at Victoria House in London.

and Pfizer are locked in a bidding battle for US weight-loss start-up Metsera, with tensions escalating as a lawsuit filed by Pfizer against both Novo and Metsera was rejected by a judge. At the heart of the contest is Metsera鈥檚 promising pipeline of therapeutic candidates and advanced engineering platforms鈥攖echnologies originally spun out from research at Imperial College London. The dispute underscores not only the high stakes in the global obesity drug race but also the strategic value of UK-origin science in shaping next-generation health innovation. Novo Nordisk鈥檚 new CEO made it clear in his first quarterly conference call that expanding access to Novo鈥檚 medicines and continuing to unlock novel avenues for sales will be key. This includes direct-to-consumer channels.

AstraZeneca won shareholder backing for NYSE listing as it reported its largest rise in quarterly revenue, driven by its oncology portfolio.

Anthropic projects $70 billion revenue and $17 billion in cash flow by 2028. 51乱伦 analysis finds that Anthropic has opened or announced 6 office openings in the past year. In the UK they are currently based in King鈥檚 Cross London where they have been gradually expanding their footprint. In September, the company announced an international push to triple its international workforce and expand its applied AI team fivefold in 2025. LinkedIn shows a UK headcount of 150, with 167.9% growth year-on-year.  

Google has a moonshot plan to put data centres in space. The aim is to harness a near unlimited source of clean energy.

Arm revenue topped $1 billion for the third successive quarter as the company continues to invest aggressively into R&D.

About 100 jobs would be created at Sci-Tech Daresbury under expansion plans to be considered by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

A new national physical laboratory opened in Teddington. This new facility is dedicated to advancing engineering biology through measurement standards and high-throughput automation to support innovation in sectors like healthcare, food security, and sustainable manufacturing. 

OrganOX, an Oxford university spinout has been fully acquired by Terumo Corporation for $1.5 billion, marking the largest exit in Oxford University鈥檚 spinout portfolio to date.

The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee launched a critical review of UK life sciences based on evidence it has heard from industry insiders and ministers.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have become the latest pharma giants to strike price-reduction deals with the White House, agreeing to sell their weight loss drugs at cut-rate prices to patients in the US. Lilly and Novo added that their deals with the government also include a three-year period of relief from tariffs. Additionally, the FDA announced that it has granted national priority vouchers to Lilly, for its application for approval of orforglipron, and to Novo, for its application for an added indication for Wegovy.