Health Tech & Life Sciences SMEs – COVID-19 Impact Survey 2020
Sector insightsInsights from 78 UK health tech and life sciences SMEs on how COVID-19 affected operations, funding, hiring and future growth.
Overview
MedCity, SEHTA and One Nucleus surveyed 78 health tech and life sciences SMEs to understand the operational and financial disruption caused by COVID-19, and how companies were adapting in the early stages of recovery. The respondents collectively employed over 1,090 people, with 90% developing products or services that benefit patients. Half reported that COVID-19 caused significant delays to development timelines, funding cycles and clinical studies.
Remote working emerged as a lasting shift, with over three-quarters planning to keep a hybrid model and many reducing office space. SMEs also highlighted constraints linked to the easing of lockdown restrictions, including social distancing requirements, paused conferences and missing international travel.
Funding remained a serious concern: nearly 40% of companies reported only 3–6 months’ sustainability without additional support. Despite this, respondents expressed confidence in long-term international growth, identifying Europe, the USA and Australia as priority markets.
Companies also shared learnings, including a faster appetite for digital adoption within the NHS and the need for simpler procurement pathways to accelerate innovation uptake.
Key takeaways
- COVID-19 slowed product developmentOver half of SMEs developing patient-benefiting products reported delays to R&D, clinical studies and investor milestones, extending timelines by 6–12 months.
- Hybrid working became permanentMore than 75% of SMEs planned to increase home working after lockdown, with a third expecting to reduce office space over the following 12 months.
- Funding resilience remained fragileDespite new government support schemes, 40% of SMEs saw only 3–6 months’ operating runway without further funding, especially pre-revenue firms.
