Hammersmith & Fulham Leader Cllr Stephen Cowan has announced the formation of a new 'innovation cluster' in the borough – the Fulham Riverside Life Sciences Precinct.
The new precinct - part of the council's Upstream London industrial strategy – will be developed with Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust and Imperial College London.
The aim is to further strengthen the borough's reputation as a global economic hotspot giving residents the best career and life opportunities in the hottest industries of the 21st century.
Cllr Cowan's announcement was made at the official opening of ARC West London's new 150,000sq ft laboratory and tech space development, Refinery, on the Fulham Reach waterfront.
ARC West London will take its place at the heart of the new precinct, which links to Charing Cross Hospital in Fulham Palace Road and extends to the White City Innovation District, where Hammersmith Hospital is based.
Together with the existing Paddington Life Sciences eco-system, the vision is to create a supercluster across West London in line with Imperial's West Tech Corridor and Hammersmith & Fulham Council's Upstream London strategy.
New partnerships
The opening of the Refinery on Thursday (20 March) saw the announcement of new partnerships between Imperial Incubator, Imperial NHS Trust and ARC West London. These will support innovators across AI, life sciences, robotics and digital industries with lab benches, co-working spaces, cutting edge facilities, shared equipment to develop and scale-up early-stage concepts.
The partnership with the NHS will facilitate and navigate connections between companies at ARC West London and teams within the NHS to advance collaboration and innovation.
Another milestone
Cllr Cowan said:
These new partnerships at the heart of the new Fulham Riverside Life Sciences Precinct mark another major milestone in establishing our corner of West London as a global leader in science and technology.
By fostering collaboration between world-class research institutions, innovative companies, and the NHS, we are not only driving economic growth but also shaping the future of healthcare and deep tech in line with our Upstream London industrial strategy.
This is an exciting step forward for Hammersmith & Fulham and the wider UK innovation landscape."
Graham Hewson, Head of Incubation and Prototyping Spaces at Imperial, commented: "This new incubator space will continue our work to connect world-leading research with the next generation of startups, supporting breakthrough innovations in deep tech and life sciences as part of the WestTech Corridor.
"By collaborating with ARC, we're reinforcing West London's status as a premier destination for scientific discovery and commercialisation."
Dr Suki Balendra, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Paddington Life Sciences Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: "Collaboration is key to accelerating health innovation, and this partnership will be instrumental in bridging the gap between pioneering research and real-world healthcare impact.
"By connecting startups and scientists with NHS expertise, we can fast-track the development of breakthrough technologies, improve patient outcomes, and strengthen the life sciences ecosystem in West London."
Jim Stretton, Managing Director of ARC, added: "By combining Imperial's world-class research, our expertise in creating dynamic innovation campuses and our partnership with the NHS, we're building a unique ecosystem where life science and health startups can thrive.
"This collaboration will accelerate the journey from discovery to real-world impact, strengthening West London as a global location for science, technology, and healthcare innovation."
Upstream London
Upstream London is Hammersmith & Fulham Council's pioneering industrial strategy. We launched it in 2017 with the aim of transforming our borough into an inclusive, global, economic hotspot – a place where innovation and creativity define exciting new opportunities for our people.
Partnering with world-leading university Imperial College London, we established the White City Innovation District. Since then, we've helped attract £6billion of investment and created more than 13,000 new jobs in H&F. Eighty-five per cent of all investment is in the 'STEM3' fields of science, technology, engineering, maths, medicine and media.
H&F also launched the Upstream Pathway Bond, a groundbreaking initiative giving people a clearer pathway into new careers and more opportunities to develop new skills. Through utilising our relationships with businesses and with the international partnerships we have developed, young people will have more opportunities than ever before.
Organisations who sign up offer advice, work experience, apprenticeships, interview skills, mentoring and inspiration – even travelling abroad to experience our partner innovation districts. In return, businesses have a highly-skilled workforce on their doorstep.
