New report highlights the scale and potential of the South West’s health and life sciences sector

A new independent report provides a comprehensive review of the diverse health and life sciences landscape of the South West, highlighting the region as a significant and structurally distinctive system.

Avison Young was commissioned to produce the report, ‘The Health and Life Sciences Sector in the South West’, to provide an evidence-led assessment of the region’s assets. Using an innovative AI-driven methodology to look beyond traditional industrial classifications, the mapping identified around 4,000 health and life science entities, including companies, research bodies, and healthcare providers.

The findings outline the potential opportunities and identify broad trends across the South West.

Read the Avison Young report on the South West Life Sciences site.

Strategic insights: a polycentric landscape

A defining characteristic of the South West’s health and life sciences ecosystem identified in the report is its “polycentric” and distributed geography. Unlike regional clusters organised around a single dominant hub, the South West operates as a coherent, distributed system where different locations perform complementary roles.

Within this ecosystem, clear regional specialisms can be seen:

• The Peninsula (Devon and Cornwall) is characterised by a strong concentration of patient-focused and community-based care models. This sub-region excels in integrated and digitally enabled care, focusing on delivery models like telehealth and preventative services.
• Bristol, Gloucestershire, Bath and Swindon function as the principal centres and connectors for research-intensive and innovation-led activity, underpinned by a high concentration of universities and clinical research infrastructure.
• The wider region provides essential supporting roles, hosting specialist manufacturing, supply chain activity, and professional services that connect the broader system.

An important role for convergence technologies

The report identifies the South West as a service-led but innovation-enabled ecosystem. A key insight is the central role of convergence technologies with the integration of digital, engineering, and physical sciences.

The analysis shows that these technologies are not peripheral but are driving the future of health in the region, particularly in areas like digital health, AI, and medtech. This interconnected environment can allow ideas to move quickly from research to application, with healthcare providers acting as testbeds for new tools in real-world settings.

Next steps

The publication of this report marks the formal conclusion of the Cluster Development Initiative. While the specific project is closing, the partners (Health Innovation West of England, Health Innovation South West, the GW4 Alliance, and South West Life Sciences) will continue to play long-term support roles, focusing on place-based cluster activity and regional advocacy.