We work inside this triangle every day

Oxford. Cambridge. London.

The Golden Triangle. Home to the most concentrated life sciences ecosystem outside the United States.

£94bn sector. 359,600 jobs. The map above shows why.

Every pin is a biotech, a pharma, a medtech, a digital health company. Built over decades. Clustered around world-class universities, NHS anchor institutions, and deep pools of specialist talent.

This is where Cranleigh STEM & Sustainability Recruitment has built its network. We know these businesses, these hiring managers, these growth stories. We’ve placed the people inside them.

And that’s exactly why the current policy environment concerns us.

One pricing scheme - VPAG pushed NHS drug rebate rates to 22.9% of pharma revenues in 2025. France charges 5.7%. Germany, 7%.

The result?
AstraZeneca. Eli Lilly. Merck. Sanofi. All pulled R&D investment from the UK.
68% of pharma firms reduced UK investment in 2024.
The UK fell from 4th to 10th globally for clinical trials.

This isn’t a distant policy debate. It shows up in hiring freezes. Delayed headcount. Relocated teams.

The good news?
Rates are being cut for 2026. The sector plan is ambitious. The talent and the science are still here.
But this ecosystem took decades to build. It won’t survive neglect.

If you’re hiring, scaling, or navigating this market, we are always keen to hear from you and connect