Canary Wharf Attracts Life Sciences focused start-ups and scale-ups to its tech community at Level39
25th April 2023
- Latest members at Level39 include TC BioPharm, Neural Rays AI, L Base, Sanius Health and The Cancer Awareness Trust
- Existing life science companies at the specialist co-working and office hub include Congenica, whose CFO will be speaking at this evening’s inaugural Health & Life Sciences Meet-up at Level39
- Canary Wharf set to benefit from further life sciences buildings with innovation centre at 20 Water Street launching in June 2023 and an 823,000 sq ft commercial laboratory building awaiting planning approval
22 March 2023: The development of a major life science cluster at Canary Wharf continues to build momentum with a range of life sciences focused start-ups and scaleup businesses joining the growing community of technology businesses at its specialist co-working and office hub, Level39.
Based in One Canada Square, Level39 is a flexible workspace and tech community. Launched by Canary Wharf Group ten years ago, it is now home to over 180 start-ups and scaleups innovating in FinTech, Cyber Security, CleanTech, Blockchain, Life Sciences and HealthTech. This evening Level39 will also be hosting the first Health & Life Sciences Meet-up in Canary Wharf, bringing together over 100 start-ups, scaleups and investors to discuss growth and investment into the sector. Speakers include Jayesh Pankhania, CFO at Congenica, Katerina Spranger, Founder & CEO at Oxford Heartbeat, and Uzma Choudry PhD, Venture Capital Investor at Octopus Ventures.
Level39 is now fast becoming a go-to destination for life sciences-based companies, welcoming a raft of new members including TC BioPharm, the clinical stage biotechnology company; Neural Rays, the ethical AI company; and Sanius Health, a health tech company dedicated to improving rare diseases treatment.
The Cancer Awareness Trust is also using Level39 as a base from which to carry out its pioneering work, and has been joined by L Base, a biotech company specialising in innovative R&D of cancer drugs.
Congenica, a leading digital health company, has also recently extended its long-term commitment to Level39. The company was born out of the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the NHS, providing pioneering analysis of genomic data. Congenica is also the exclusive provider of clinical decision support to Genomics England, one of the world’s most cutting-edge life science organisations, which recently moved to One Canada Square, Canary Wharf.
The growing life sciences ecosystem at Level39 will soon also be accompanied by the occupiers within the new life sciences innovation centre at 20 Water Street, which is launching in June this year and will provide highly flexible and best in class laboratory space. This is further endorsement of Canary
Wharf Group’s strategy, which, in joint venture with Kadans, is looking to establish a world leading health and life sciences cluster at Canary Wharf centred around their planned development of a new 823,000 sq ft commercial laboratory building at North Quay.
The new 23-storey building will be delivered in 2026 and will set a new benchmark in the development of life sciences laboratories and workspace. Importantly, it will be a laboratory building at its core, with designs allowing for lab space to be available on all floors.
The 3.3 hectare North Quay site is located on the doorstep of Canary Wharf’s new Elizabeth Line station, providing excellent connectivity to central London and Heathrow. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF), the new building will be developed to the highest sustainability and technological standards. The project will leverage Kadans’ experience of curating multi-let lab projects with vibrant health and life science ecosystems housing SMEs and academics as well as global healthcare and pharmaceutical companies.
Canary Wharf is already home to a diverse range of healthcare and life sciences-focused companies, including Genomics England, Barts Health NHS Trust, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Medical Defence Union, General Pharmaceutical Council and NHS Transformation.
Richard Archer, Managing Director of Offices, Canary Wharf Group, said:
“Our strategy is to make Canary Wharf one of Europe’s leading centres for life sciences, and establishing an ecosystem of inter-connected companies is a key element to achieving that goal. Having welcomed a raft of new members at Level39, we are building real momentum in growing this cluster whilst working seamlessly in tandem with the development of the new vertical life sciences campus at North Quay. We look to forward to hosting many of the new start-up and scaleup businesses occupying Level39 at our Health & Life Sciences meet up today.”
James Sheppard, Managing Director of Kadans Science Partner, added:
“The rapid emergence of such a vibrant community of life sciences companies at Level39 is a sure sign of the growing recognition of Canary Wharf’ potential as the home for a major UK and European ecosystem of life sciences, providing a best in class space for the broad and diverse range of companies operating in the sector.”
Jayesh Pankhania, CFO of Congenica, said:
“The UK is leading the way in driving precision medicine across the world and being part of the Level39 community enables us to develop and establish important connections in this exciting, and fast growing, MedTech and life sciences hub. Level39 is a great space for us due to its convenient location, high quality and flexible office space, networking opportunities and the first-class support provided by the Level39 team.”
Professor Sir Chris Evans, Founder of The Cancer Awareness Trust, said:
“This is a very exciting time for the Cancer Awareness Trust (CAT) to be based at Level39 at Canary Wharf. It is the perfect home for my team as they develop our unique and comprehensive Cancer Platform – a digital platform offering a global solution to support any person affected by any cancers. We are part of a vibrant business community that shares in our vision and journey and is supporting our development at all levels.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
For more information contact:
Richard Sunderland, Richard Stocks, Ciara Martin
FTI Consulting
Canarywharf@fticonsulting.com
+44 (0)20 3727 1000
About Canary Wharf Group:
Canary Wharf Group (CWG) is the developer of the largest urban regeneration project in Europe and integrates sustainability at its core. CWG develops, manages and currently owns interests in approximately 9 million square feet of mixed-use space and over 1,100 Build to Rent apartments. CWG purchases 100% electricity from renewable sources since 2012 and zero waste to landfill from managed areas since 2009 and has a partnership with the Eden Project to create a space which works for nature as well as people.
CWG has created a 24/7 city where people can live, work and thrive on the Canary Wharf estate and enjoy all the benefits: great transport links, access to green spaces and waterside living; and a wide range of amenities including an award-winning arts and events programme. Canary Wharf’s retail offering comprises over 300 shops, including grocery stores, pharmacies, health clubs, bars and restaurants, all within 15 minutes’ walk.
The Company’s current £1.3bn construction activity is composed of 500,000 square feet of commercial properties and over 1,600 new homes for sale and rent.
www.canarywharf.com LinkedIn: @CanaryWharfGroup Instagram: @canarywharflondon / @woodwharf Twitter: @YourCanaryWharf / @CanaryWharfGrp / @Level39CW / @Wood_Wharf
About Kadans Science Partner
Kadans Science Partner is the European leader investing in the development of ecosystems and real estate with a dedicated focus on the knowledge intensive sector. Kadans has invested across various specific areas, like agri-tech in Wageningen, life sciences in Leiden, and cell & gene therapy in Stevenage, UK. Kadans provides its tenants with an array of additional services tailored to their specific needs. In December 2020, Kadans was acquired by AXA IM Alts, which, as a long- term capital partner, has allowed us to significantly accelerate our growth.
Kadans is currently present on 26 campuses, in 7 countries, where it operates over 7 million sq ft of space for over 400 tenants, including start-ups, scale-ups, corporates, government bodies and educational institutes. Kadans has a solid view of the developments our tenants and partners are currently working on and which parties in our network could benefit from connecting.
www.kadans.com
Instagram: @kadanssciencepartner
Twitter: @KadansScience