We are an investor in young start up technology businesses and we have partnerships with MidTech and 8 of the regional universities in the West Midlands. Our investment focus is the West Midlands (www.merciafund.co.uk). About a third of our investments are in the life science sector (by this I mean biotech, pharma, diagnostics and medical devices). We typically invest £0.5m, but can invest up to £1m per company.

From our perspective, the government could look to address the following:-

For loss making life science companies (i.e. in product development, prior to product approval and selling), there is a distinct lack of risk capital:-
Early stage venture capital (£1-3m). This needs to be managed on a regional basis so that local investors can assist and support their investees. It also needs to be managed by investors with an expertise in life science and life science investments
I would strongly endorse the creation of further funds such as more Enterprise Capital Funds to address this.

Supply chains. Very often, venture-backed businesses will seek co-development partners in markets (geographies) where they envisage their exit to be. Investment is needed to support relevant sectors such as specialised manufacturing as they switch to supporting the life science sectors (particularly relevant to medical devices – a growing strength and opportunity in the West Midlands)

Exit (trade sales). Many of the large organisations in the life science sectors are based outside of the UK. Thus smaller companies within the UK position themselves (at a relatively early stage) to be bought by companies from outside of the UK resulting in the migration of technology and associated skills.
The government should look at ways in which industry can be attracted to the UK and thus build a corporate critical mass in the UK. This will lead to supply chain maturity building around these corporates too.