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18 May 2026 Great science needs great people: introducing Talentmark Building a high-performing team is one of the most critical and challenging parts of scaling an early-stage science company. We know this not just from personal experience, but from the founders we've spoken to directly. In our recent research with London science and technology founders, one message came through clearly: the best innovation hubs don't just provide space. They actively support and help their tenants to succeed. "When we look for space, we’re less worried about the building, we’re more interested in how can you help us?" COO, Medtech company That question sits at the heart of what we're creating at Sciopolis, and one of the most important answers is this: we're building an ecosystem designed to help our tenants develop their technology and build their business. And one key aspect is to help them find, attract and grow the teams they need. A community of diverse companies needs diverse talent pathways Our tenants will come from many different scientific disciplines: life sciences, clinical research, cleantech, chemistry etc — at different stages of growth, with very different hiring needs. The founding team of a medtech startup has entirely different requirements to a chemistry company scaling its technical function, or a drug discovery business hiring its first commercial lead. Our research showed that early-stage founders in particular feel this acutely: they need access to talent, community and networks all at once, and the right connections matter enormously. And that's exactly what we're building, through multiple strands: Imperial College London & other universities: connecting our tenants with world-class graduate and postgraduate talent from the UK's leading research institutions Local Colleges, creating pathways for local talent into our community, supporting skills development and widening access to the life sciences and chemical sectors Local talent placement — investing in the communities around us and building sustainable pipelines that reflect the diversity of west London And now.. Talentmark , a specialist recruitment partner serving the life science, clinical and chemical sectors, bringing dedicated expertise in scientific, technical and commercial hiring Why specialist recruitment matters Our founders told us they don't want to feel like just another tenant. They want support that's genuinely invested in their outcomes: "As a founder, what I want first is really support. It's more knowing that you feel supported rather than you're going to have to pay a hefty fee for anything." — CEO, Cleantech company That's exactly the philosophy Talentmark brings. As a key strand in our talent ecosystem, they work consultatively, helping Sciopolis tenant companies define roles, shape hiring strategy and build teams for the long term. This isn't a transactional recruiter relationship. It's a genuine partner who understands the specific demands of life science, clinical and chemical hiring and who is focused on long-term outcomes, not just placements. As a Sciopolis member, with Talentmark you will have access to: Specialist recruitment across scientific, technical and commercial functions in life science, clinical and chemical sectors Flexible hiring solutions — permanent, interim or contract, aligned to your stage and needs A free initial consultation to assess your hiring needs and shape your talent strategy Salary benchmarking and real-time market insights to keep your hiring competitive An established network of high-quality, often passive, specialist talent Competitive rates , available following an initial discussion " We’re really excited about this partnership with Sciopolis and the opportunity to support companies from early concept through to scale. The stages may differ, but getting the right people in place at the right time is always critical. By embedding ourselves within this ecosystem, we can do more than just recruit – we can help define roles, provide real-time market insight, and connect founders to high-quality talent, including those who aren’t actively looking but are open to the right opportunity." Georgia Barnes, Client Development Manager, Talentmark Cat, Georgia and Charlie at Lab Live 2026 This is just the beginning Talent is consistently one of the biggest growth barriers for early-stage science companies and supporting our tenants means helping you build the teams that will drive your science forward. The Talentmark partnership is a strong next step in that mission and there is more to come as we continue to develop and expand these pathways. "I don't want it to be just a building." — Founder, Cleantech company Neither do we. Find out more about the ecosystem we are building at 1 Portal Way About Talentmark

9 Sept 2025 Scaling Stories: prioritising location for a successful growth strategy Choose a location with room to grow Hiring great people is crucial, especially at the early stages. You need adaptable, high-energy people who thrive in ambiguity. Being in a location that attracts that kind of talent gives you an edge. Keeping those people is as much about location as it is about everything else. You have to ask yourself, is there room to expand here so we don’t have to risk losing good people if we are forced to relocate? Design spaces that spark creativity The physical experience matters too. If you’re asking people to come into an office, it needs to be more than a desk in a room. You need spaces that encourage conversation, spark ideas and make people feel proud to work there. Ensure you create a dynamic environment that encourages networking It’s not just about your square footage; it’s about your surroundings. Being near other entrepreneurs creates an environment of informal support. You can swap insights without judgement. Being in a great location that offers opportunities for collaboration, means you share that scaling journey with other people you can trust and whose ideas you can bounce off. That also goes some way to combating the loneliness that comes with being a founder. Be aware of how your surroundings impact morale and performance Surrounding yourself with the best people and giving them the autonomy to thrive is key. If your office environment is cramped, uninspiring or isolating, you’re giving people reasons to stay at home. If it’s energising, connected and well-designed, you make it a place people want to be. Is it a place you are inspired to work from? And does the space encourage collaboration and innovation? If the answer to those is yes, you’re setting yourself up for better growth and maybe avoiding the day when you have to replace yourself sooner than you’d like. Are you a founder or innovator building a science or technology venture? Ready to find the right space to support your growth? Sciopolis has the space for you. 👉 Explore our locations here .

30 Mar 2026 First Tenant announced: Ki-Hydrogen Welcoming Ki Hydrogen to 1 Portal Way A UK cleantech startup with breakthrough green hydrogen technology is set to call our North Acton Innovation Hub home from June 2026. This is what we built 1 Portal Way for. 1,500 SQ FT LAB & OFFICE June 2026 OPENING 55,000 SQ FT TOTAL HUB 24 TOTAL LABS AVAILABLE We’re really pleased to announce that Ki Hydrogen — one of the UK’s most promising cleantech startups — will be the first company to take up space at our new Innovation Hub at 1 Portal Way, North Acton, ahead of our June 2026 opening. Ki Hydrogen will occupy 1,500 sq ft of laboratory and office space, giving their team the room and infrastructure to progress into an engineering scale-up phase — all while staying connected to the Imperial College London ecosystem they grew up in. From a single bench to a fully fitted lab Ki Hydrogen’s journey is the kind of story that 1 Portal Way is designed to support and extend. The company originated within Imperial’s innovation ecosystem, beginning with a single bench at Imperial Incubator in White City. They then moved into dedicated lab space before being selected for the inaugural cohort of EarthScale — the Imperial-led programme supporting pioneering climate tech ventures advancing from prototype to commercial manufacturing — as well as Imperial Undaunted’ s accelerator. Their arrival at 1 Portal Way is the next chapter: a purpose-built hub where they can scale their technology without leaving the network that has supported them. “Sciopolis offers exactly the kind of environment we need as we progress into our engineering scale-up phase. Remaining within the Imperial and WestTech London ecosystem — while gaining the space, capability and flexibility to scale our technology — is a major advantage. We’re excited to grow here in Old Oak and to contribute to this emerging innovation cluster.” Koji Muto — Co-founder & CEO, Ki Hydrogen Technology that matters Ki Hydrogen is tackling one of green hydrogen’s most stubborn problems: the enormous amount of energy required to produce it. Green hydrogen is an essential chemical feedstock to make clean fuels, but it takes a huge amount of electricity to make, which has always kept costs high. Ki Hydrogen has found a smarter way. Instead of using electricity alone, their process leverages abundant, non-food biomass: things like leftover wood waste, agricultural residue, and industrial side streams. The result is green hydrogen produced at a fraction of the usual energy cost. As a bonus, the process also co-produces biogenic CO₂, itself a valuable ingredient in sustainable aviation fuel and green methanol. So one process, two useful outputs, and a much more viable path to clean industry. Part of a growing cluster Ki Hydrogen’s arrival at 1 Portal Way places them at the heart of Imperial’s emerging Old Oak Innovation Cluster, part of WestTech London . They’ll be neighbours with companies including Solena Materials, based at Imperial’s nearby advanced manufacturing site, Grapht Works. “We’re delighted to see Ki Hydrogen continue to grow. They started with a single bench at Imperial Incubator and then moved into their own dedicated lab space. Now we are looking forward to partnering with Sciopolis at 1 Portal Way and to working with Ki Hydrogen again. Their journey shows exactly what WestTech London is designed to deliver: a place where a startup can launch easily, expand within a supportive community and begin pilot manufacturing locally.” Graham Hewson — Head of Incubation & Prototyping Spaces, Imperial College London Setting the scene for what's to come London has a well-documented shortage of affordable, ready-to-occupy laboratory space. Too many companies at a critical stage in their growth are priced out of the capital just as they’re hitting their stride. 1 Portal Way exists to change that: offering cost-effective, fully fitted CL2 laboratories and flexible offices, with no upfront capital investment required, embedded in an exciting, university-linked ecosystem. “Ki Hydrogen’s arrival sets the tone for what Sciopolis stands for: bringing together companies tackling the world’s most urgent challenges, and giving them the space, infrastructure and community support they need to scale and begin manufacturing in London.” Charlie Mitchell — CEO, Sciopolis If your company is looking for space to grow, we’d love to talk . Ki Hydrogen is the first member of our community, and it’s a lovely first. We’ll be announcing more tenants in the months ahead as we count down to our June opening. Discover our lab and office availabilty Download our Brochure ABOUT KI HYDROGEN: ki-hydrogen.com →

27 Jan 2026 Construction Update - Jan 26 We’re excited to share the latest progress at our North Acton site, 1 Portal Way, where we’re shaping the next generation of lab and workspace for London’s science and innovation community. Where We Are Now • The project is just over 50% complete , and we remain firmly on track for a June 2026 opening . • The new front entrance building structure is now up, with the floor now solid and roof works underway, setting the stage for a welcoming, street‑level arrival experience for teams and visitors. • Inside the building, most labs, offices and meeting rooms now have walls in place , giving a clear picture of all the spaces - ideal if you’re starting to imagine where you and your teams could call home. Lab space, first floor • Mechanical and electrical installations are progressing smoothly , including systems critical for high-performance research environments. There’s still time to tailor spaces, so please get in touch early with your specific requirements. • Our new internal atrium has taken shape, creating a bright, central collaboration area that already feels like the heart of the building. We think it looks lovely! The central atrium, connecting floors and creating opportunities for members to interact What’s Coming Next • Work will begin soon on the garden , transforming it into a green, high quality amenity space for outdoor working, meetings and downtime. Think summer BBQs in July. • The interior of the entrance building will soon take shape as we build out the café and main event space, which is capable of hosting up to 80 guests. This is a key social element of the 1 Portal Way proposition which will help support and develop our community. Main Event space, linked to entrance area - capacity for up to 80 people Entrance Cafe, serving barista coffee and hot food. Sensibly Sustainable (at least we try) Sustainability is embedded in everything we do: reusing materials, reducing waste and championing local makers as part of our long‑term, low‑carbon strategy. • Trees from the front of the building have been relocated to the rear garden, preserving mature greenery. Private Garden - ideal for Summer Socials or for our members to eat their lunch. • Refurbished fan coil units from the original building are being reinstalled to reduce waste while maintaining efficiency. • In February, we’re trialling a hemp‑based wall stud system for our reception office—a future‑focused, low‑carbon construction technology. • We’re partnering with local suppliers to repaint the exterior and craft bespoke furniture for our hot‑desk area. Want to see it for yourself? We run site tours every Tuesday and we'd love to show you around. I f you’d like to see the progress first‑hand, explore the future labs and workspaces and get a feel for the growing community at 1 Portal Way book your #TuesdayTour now

8 Apr 2025 Can your building be turned into an Innovation Hub? Only a Feasibility Study can tell. In the last 18 months, we have conducted several feasibility studies for universities and landlords who wanted to ascertain whether an existing building could be converted into an Innovation Hub or to confirm if their plans to develop a new building make sense. Our team loves getting its teeth stuck into such projects, as they allow us to reach a definitive yes or no answer in a short period of time, while also absorbing everything there is to know about a new area or ecosystem. We are very passionate about creating innovation for the benefit of UK plc. Therefore, we understand the great responsibility of providing the right answers, ensuring our clients avoid spending time and money on projects that lack potential. So what do we look for in assessing these buildings (existing or new) ? We use what we call an “A-B-C methodology”, which consists in asking ourselves the following 3 questions: A for Attractive: will the space and the area be a ttractive to the target market? B for Building: can such a space be b uilt economically? C for Cluster: can the space become part of a c luster and an innovative community? Across everything we do, the building is only ever 50% of the answer. The other 50% is the potential for the building to be activated in a way that drives innovation. That’s why our feasibility studies focus on both aspects; Technical feasibility of constructing a suitable physical space, including consideration of design, MEPH adjustment, taking into account budget constraints and the overall business case. Ecosystem feasibility – identifying the right target tenants and creating a narrative around how this location will form a distinctive place for science and technology, how it links to universities and to other adjacent hubs, and what its specific purpose may be, based on its geographic characteristics or the pre-existing nature of a place. Once we believe that a location is potentially suitable both from a technical and ecosystem perspective and that it can be delivered, we develop a business case based on our experience of designing, developing and operating innovation spaces. This model will include sensitivity analysis of potential returns under stressed assumptions. In our experience, if a building is well connected transport wise, it’s close to a university, has a landlord with a strong idea they want to implement (i.e. there’s a strong potential thematic angle that the Innovation Hub will pursue) and has certain characteristics from a building standpoint which allow the creation of labs and amenities (ceiling height, reception space, floorplates that can allow convergence etc) then the answer tends to be that yes, it can be turned into an Innovation Hub. Are you thinking about developing an Innovation Hub and want some help? Get in touch

10 Sept 2025 Summer Update 2025 After a well-earned summer breather, the Sciopolis team returned recharged, and just in time. July and August brought a wave of good news that has set the tone for an ambitious autumn . Appointed at One Portal Way, Old Oak In July, we were appointed by Imperial College London to deliver a new scale-up space at One Portal Way, Old Oak . The site will offer flexible lab and office space for early-stage ventures, with a focus on affordability, speed to occupancy, and community. This marks a major step forward in our mission to support companies that have outgrown incubators but aren’t yet ready for full commercial leases. We’re proud to be working alongside Imperial to shape a new innovation cluster in West London, and we’ve already started receiving enquiries from ambitious tenants looking for an exciting new home. The Standard covered the announcement Shortlisted for Estates Gazette Awards 2025 We’re delighted to share that Sciopolis has been shortlisted for “New Business Launch of the Year” at the Estates Gazette Awards 2025 . The awards ceremony takes place in November, and we’re honoured to be recognised alongside other ambitious, sector-shaping organisations. Civic Campus, Hammersmith: Feasibility Study Completed It was a pleasure to immerse ourselves in the Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and gain a deeper understanding of its bold vision for innovation . As part of our six-week feasibility study, we delivered recommendations for a new Innovation Hub at the Civic Campus, designed to support local entrepreneurs and connect deeply with other innovation hotspots in the Borough. The study allowed us to analyse market demand and opportunity and propose a use of space that aligns with the borough’s ambition to be “the best place to do business in Europe.” Feasibility Study: designing the Heart of Innovation in Hammersmith & Fulham Looking Ahead We continue to scope new sites across Cambridge, London and beyond. These hubs will feature our signature emphasis on community, shared amenities and curated programming to foster collaboration and accelerate growth. If you are a venture looking for space in London or Cambridge, it’s not too early to get in touch If you are a landlord, university or local authority interested in partnering to create or repurpose a building into an Innovation Hub , we’d love to hear from you early in the process. Read how we can help If you are a company offering services to science and technology innovators and want to join our Service Partners Network, find out more Want to receive this monthly update in your Inbox? Sign up to our Newsletter here

22 Apr 2026 Lab to Manufacturing. Without the commute. Last month, Imperial College London inaugurated the Victoria Industrial Estate under its new name: Grapht Works . Names matter. Graft speaks to work, iteration, getting your hands dirty and staying close to the process. It also signals the coming together of things, the building of a new community. And for our tenants at 1 Portal Way , this moment is profoundly practical. What’s been launched next door (a five‑minute walk away)is pilot manufacturing capacity sitting directly alongside our ready‑to‑occupy labs and offices. In London, this kind of proposition is almost unheard of. A proposition that barely exists in London If you are a science or technology scale-up thinking about the next stage of your journey, which is likely to involve manufacturing - whether that’s imminent or still a year or two down the line - the usual London story is compromise. Labs in one place. Manufacturing somewhere else. Here in North Acton, there’s no compromise. At 1 Portal Way, you can be running R&D in fully fitted labs while your manufacturing sits literally 200m/ a “five-minute walk” away. Not in an industrial park beyond the M25, nor a train journey away. We’re talking about two sites designed to operate as one ecosystem- physically, culturally and programmatically: for founders and operators, this level of adjacency matters hugely. Why this matters? Manufacturing is iterative. Distance kills iteration. Manufacturing is not a fixed end state, especially at pilot and demonstration scale. It’s a process of adjustment, refinement, and correction. When your lab is far from your manufacturing site, iteration slows, small teams waste time travelling, decisions get deferred and changes wait until “the next visit”. Here, iteration compresses: you can walk from the manufacturing floor back to the lab. Adjust a process. Test it. Return. Adjust again. Several times in a single day if needed. That is not a marginal gain, it is a structural advantage. It means faster learning, tighter feedback loops, and better decision-making (especially for lean teams where every hour matters.) There isn’t a better place to do this in London There are very few locations in Zones 1 or 2 where manufacturing is even permitted. Fewer still (none?) where manufacturing sits directly alongside labs, offices, and an active innovation community anchored by a world‑leading university like Imperial College London. As far as we can see, nowhere else combines all of the following: Ready‑to‑use lab and office space where teams can refine and adjust their process. Adjacent manufacturing capability the kind where you can literally drive your forklift from one building to the next. A single, integrated community and programme , offering stage‑appropriate connections that accelerate thinking and reduce time to scale. Central London connectivity , making it easier to attract talent and maintain effortless commutes. A position within the Imperial and WestTech London ecosystem , giving companies privileged linkage to research, talent and translational infrastructure. For companies serious about scaling, this is a rare alignment of capabilities, location and ecosystem support. The successful launch of Grapht Works simply formalised what we already believed: 1 Portal Way occupies a genuinely unique position in London’s innovation landscape. Lab to manufacturing. Same day. Same community. Same momentum. Looking for Labs & Office space adjacent to advanced manufacturing? Check us out Want to find out more about Grapht Works? Brochure's here

4 Sept 2025 Scaling Stories: how do you know when to step aside as a founder? You’ve started a business and thrown all your creativity and passion into building it into a successful start-up but then comes the inevitable running of the machine. Retaining the momentum of the company is a key part of that process but there comes a time in the journey of many a founder when the skills that built the company aren’t the skills needed to help it accelerate. Here, Mark Sanders, Sciopolis founder and CEO, explores how to know when this moment has arrived and how to take action . I recently stumbled across an article in The Standard entitled ‘ Want to Grow Faster? It Might Be Time to Replace Yourself’ and found a lot of truth in it. Many successful businesses go through phases where the leadership changes and that can often be the best move for the company, the customers and even the founder. The skills and energy needed to start a business are not always the same as those required to grow it. Starting out is about creativity, momentum and solving problems. Scaling is about discipline, systems and structures. There is honesty in knowing what you enjoy and what you’re good at. In my career, I have always gravitated to growth areas or new ventures, even within big organisations. I wanted to focus on the creativity of building something and learning. And if your passion is innovation and invention, you might not want to be involved in the detail, in the minutiae of how a business operates. This all becomes necessary as you grow but that doesn’t mean it drives your passion. A good example is my time at TDX. The founder was hugely innovative but didn’t want to run a large, complex operation. I came in to handle the parts he didn’t want to do, eventually becoming CEO. Once the business became multi-continental, I realised that wasn’t the environment that energised me and it was this self-awareness that led me to move on. It’s crucial to build a team around you that complements your strengths while staying open to feedback from trusted advisors or your board. As a founder, one of the hardest things is recognising when you might be the barrier to growth. It’s rare to wake up one day and think, ‘I’m the problem’. You have to deliberately structure your thinking, surround yourself with good counsel and be willing to act on what you hear. Liked Mark's blog? Read his next piece on the power of the right community to help founders thrive to discover more insights about Mark's approach to business .

22 Mar 2026 1 Portal Way: we are on track to open in June We’re excited to share the latest progress at 1 Portal Way , as we move through the final stages of construction ahead of our June 2026 opening. With the building now nearing completion, the transformation is becoming clearer every week. A Fresh New Exterior Our façade is undergoing an exciting artistic transformation. In collaboration with North Acton’s Artist in Residence, David Samuel , and the Rarekind Studio team, the exterior is being reinvented with a bold black backdrop layered with molecular patterns and connecting streaks of colour: a visual expression of creativity, science and community coming together. Entrance Building Taking Shape With the entrance building now watertight, we’ve opened up the internal structure and begun forming the arrival sequence. The café and event space — open to the whole community — already feels like it will become a lively social hub. We will soon announce who we are partnering with to manage our exciting café! Floor is lava! Interior Finishes Underway This month marks the start of the “good bits”: Glazed internal screens are being installed to draw natural light deep into the building. Oak internal doors have arrived and are being fitted. Refurbishment and reglazing of original windows are close to completion. Event Spaces & Meeting Rooms available to book from June We are already seeing strong interest in our soon‑to‑launch event and meeting spaces. Designed to support everything from workshops and board meetings to community events, founder gatherings and product demos, these rooms will become an important part of the innovation ecosystem we are building. The main event space will host up to 80 people , complemented by a range of meeting rooms ideal for team sessions, investor presentations or collaboration days. With natural light, modern AV and direct access to the café and terrace, these areas have been crafted with flexible, future‑facing teams in mind. If you're exploring options for events, offsites or regular meeting space, you can preview them here: 👉 View event & meeting room details 👉 See full building specifications & availability Innovation in... every wall Following our January trial of sustainable construction technologies, we’re proud to have fully integrated BioTwin hemp‑based wall studs into the project, having met them via the Imperial Undaunted Accelerator. This net‑zero, bio‑based material replaces traditional metal studs in selected partitions — a small but meaningful shift in reducing embodied carbon and showcasing the type of innovation we want our building to represent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG-vLmJmrls A Garden for work+ breaks Our new landscape design has now been signed off. The south‑facing garden terrace — wrapped in mature yew hedging — will offer: Space for outdoor events — think summer BBQs.. Member‑only space for a relaxed coffee A canopy‑covered zone perfect for meetings in warmer months Private terraces are rare in commercial office buildings; this will become one of the most unique and cherished features here. Getting ready for first arrivals We’ve begun working with our first incoming tenants, shaping their spaces around their specific scientific and operational needs. With the building moving into its final phase of delivery, everything remains firmly on track for welcoming teams this summer. We will soon be announcing our first tenants — so watch this space. Are you looking? Are you searching for cost‑effective labs, flexible office space or an exciting event space in a well‑connected London location? 👉 Check out our availability Join us for a #TuesdayTour to experience the labs, the event spaces, the garden and the community that’s forming here. 👉 Book your tour — we’d love to show you around 📏 View the Floorplans 📕 Download our Brochure 👋See you next month for the next update

25 Mar 2025 UK Life Sciences miss out on £15bn to global rivals By Mark Sanders, Chairman of Sciopolis UK Life Sciences are missing out on billions to global rivals: isn’t it time to act before it’s too late? The SCI report yesterday highlighted a competitiveness gap costing us £15 billion annually. Despite being identified as a key sector for economic growth, the UK is falling behind international rivals. Key findings from the report were: - The UK has dropped from the second to eighth place in global life sciences FDI - Clinical trials initiated in the UK have decreased by 8% since 2017/18. - Employment in life sciences has remained flat in the UK while growing by 20% in Europe. - The UK’s share of global pharmaceutical exports has dropped from 5.4% in 2018 to 3.8% in 2023. These findings are not encouraging and even less so in the context of the ambition for the UK to be a Science Superpower. My perspective is that we need to not only focus on the desired outcomes, but also the process and infrastructure to get us there. One positive way to react to this crisis would be for the government to focus on physical infrastructure that can retain and support innovators in the UK. Innovation Hubs similar to what Imperial has built at White City Innovation District - well connected, with density of researchers and industry, supported by the local authority as well as by a top university- increase the chances for innovators to attract investment, develop their ideas and make it through their commercialisation journey We need to quickly refocus on the needs of innovators and build places for them to come together, and robust networks that help them to connect the dots. This, of course, is in addition to the other measures suggested by the report, i.e. tailored incentives, streamlined regulatory processes etc. We can celebrate the UK at the forefront of life sciences invention, but we need to better sustain innovation through the other tricky phases too- including scaling and manufacturing. The risk of not doing it may mean losing the battle to other ecosystems that can cater for the entire journey. Read the full article here

Five Things Every Life Sciences Founder Must Get Right - by David Montgomery Early-stage life sciences innovation is entering a period of extraordinary opportunity. Across biotech, MedTech, diagnostics and deep healthtech, scientific capability has never been stronger. Academic spinouts are forming at pace. Capital is more globally mobile than ever. Innovation hubs like Sciopolis are deliberately bringing talent, ready to occupy infrastructure and investors into closer proximity. And yet, most breakthrough science does not become a scalable company. The gap between invention and impact is not usually scientific. It is strategic. In our work with founders and early teams, we see the same inflection points arise again and again. The companies that navigate them well accelerate. The ones that don’t often stall - sometimes quietly, sometimes expensively. Here are five things every life sciences founder must consider early. 1. Who is actually buying this? And why? Founders naturally optimise for scientific novelty or technical performance. But markets do not buy novelty: they buy solutions to funded problems. Healthcare buyers are rarely the end users. Clinicians influence. Patients benefit. But payers, procurement teams, integrated care systems, or pharma partners control budgets. A powerful early question is not “Does this work?” but: • Who writes the cheque? • What line item does it come from? • What does success look like in their system? Companies that clarify this early design very differently, from evidence generation to pricing to geographic prioritisation. 2. Are you building with the end game in mind? Too many companies enter clinical development focused on a single regulatory milestone in a single geography. But clinical strategy, regulatory pathway, reimbursement positioning and commercial sequencing are not separate workstreams. They are one integrated design problem. A trial that secures approval but does not support reimbursement can destroy value. A regulatory shortcut that limits label expansion can constrain future markets. A local strategy that ignores global sequencing can cap valuation. The most successful founders think in systems. They design backwards from long-term scale. 3. Clinical performance alone does not drive adoption In healthcare, adoption is not linear. A technology can be clinically superior and still fail commercially. Why? Because: • It disrupts workflow • It shifts budget between departments • It creates unfunded downstream costs • It lacks a champion within the system • It generates data that no one is incentivised to act upon Understanding how adoption actually happens, in real institutions, under real constraints, is often the difference between pilot projects and sustained revenue. 4. Fundraising is about execution risk, not just technology Investors rarely lose money because the science was not interesting, they lose money because execution risk was misunderstood. Early decks often focus heavily on: • The mechanism • The IP • The unmet need But experienced investors are scanning for something else: • Is there a credible regulatory path? • Is the capital plan realistic? • Is the team capable of navigating complexity? • Is the commercial model scalable? Raising capital without a clear scale-up narrative is expensive and dilutive. Raising capital with one creates leverage. 5. Founder overload is real. And dangerous. Life sciences founders operate in compressed decision environments. Within months, they may need to make high-stakes decisions across: • Regulatory strategy • Clinical design • Health economics • Market access • Hiring • Financing • Partnering Most have deep expertise in one domain, usually science. Very few have experience building companies across multiple healthcare systems, regulatory regimes and funding cycles. The risk is not simply making a wrong decision, it is making a series of uninformed early decisions whose consequences compound quietly over time. This is where basing yourself in an ecosystem like the one Sciopolis is building can help. Innovation hubs such as 1 Portal Way in North Acton actively curate networks of experienced partners, bringing specialist expertise directly into the ecosystem through structured engagement, events and founder support. PM Life Sciences is part of this partner network: through targeted involvement in the Sciopolis ecosystem, it provides founders with access to hard‑won experience across regulation, reimbursement, clinical strategy and commercialisation. Strategic support at this stage is not about outsourcing leadership. It is about reducing avoidable error, stress‑testing assumptions early and giving founders clearer signal in environments heavy with noise. The translation gap, and how we can help Across innovation ecosystems globally, there is a persistent translation gap between academic excellence and scalable company formation. Brilliant science does not automatically translate into: • Investor-ready narratives • Global regulatory strategy • Reimbursement alignment • Credible commercial pathways Bridging that gap requires experience not only of innovation but of healthcare systems, regulation, market access and global execution. PM Life Sciences was founded by to work precisely at this inflection point. Drawing on deep experience across healthcare systems, regulation, clinical development and commercial strategy in multiple markets, we support founders and early teams to: • Clarify who their real buyer is • Design integrated regulatory and reimbursement pathways • Align clinical evidence with long-term value creation • Build credible investor narratives • Navigate complex ecosystems with confidence We work with biotech, MedTech and diagnostic companies at the stage where early strategic decisions shape long-term outcomes. Our focus is simple: To help innovators move faster, with fewer avoidable missteps and with a clearer line of sight to sustainable value creation. For founders within Sciopolis and across the wider innovation ecosystem, the opportunity is immense. But so is the complexity. Getting the early decisions right is not just helpful, it is compounding. Find out more: PM Life Sciences Consulting

11 Mar 2025 Origin Public Consultation: see what is being proposed and have your say.