The organisers of Life Sciences Week (LSW) have officially announced the dates for its 2026 edition, confirming the major national event will return to Birmingham for a second year.
LSW 2026 is scheduled to run from Monday, September 21st, until Friday, September 25th. This follows a highly successful inaugural event held in September 2025, which attracted an attendance of more than 2,000 professionals and leaders from across the sector.
A Platform for National and International Ambitions
Professor Paul Cadman, co-founder of LSW and chief executive of the One Thousand Trades Group, expressed his enthusiasm for the event's growth. He stated that the team was "overwhelmed this year by the number and calibre of people who attended the first LSW", with attendees keen to engage with the multi-billion-pound growth sector.
He emphasised that while the 2025 event had a strong regional focus on Birmingham and the West Midlands, the 2026 edition is set to take on a distinctly national and international character, reflecting the area's burgeoning reputation as Britain's life sciences capital.
Professor Cadman encouraged early registration, directing interested parties to wmlifesciencesweek.co.uk/ to secure their place.
Building on a Successful Foundation
The first Life Sciences Week served as a powerful launchpad for key local initiatives. Professor Neil Hanley, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Medicine and Health at the University of Birmingham, highlighted that the 2025 event allowed them to officially launch the Birmingham Health Innovation Campus (BHIC).
"It allowed us to launch our Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, complete with the PHTA as the anchor tenant in the first building," Professor Hanley said. "Since which we have already had a ministerial visit. I’m really looking forward to next year and watching this grow year-on-year."
The Precision Health Technologies Accelerator (PHTA), the UK's largest life sciences accelerator and the anchor tenant of No.1 BHIC, was a prominent participant in the first week.
Strategic Focus Areas for 2026
Organisers have outlined a clear, fourfold focus for Life Sciences Week 2026, designed to cover the entire spectrum of the industry:
- Pharmaceutical & biotech: Encompassing drug discovery, novel therapies, and global research.
- Medical technology & diagnostics: Covering tools, devices, diagnostics, and clinical practice.
- Academic institutions: Facilitating the sharing of university research with the private sector.
- Investors: Connecting emerging ventures with capital and scaling opportunities.
The inaugural event demonstrated strong support from major brands across the West Midlands and beyond. Key partner organisations included:
- Plug and Play
- PHTA
- Coventry University
- Bruntwood
- Crowe UK
- Willis Towers Watson
- Medilink Midlands
- WMHTC
- Health Innovation West Midlands
Additional support came from sponsors such as Talbots Law, Intercity Technology, St Philips Chambers, Elonex, and Beeswift, underscoring the event's broad appeal across legal, IT, and supply chain sectors vital to the life sciences industry.
