The London Cancer Hub, a key centre for the UK’s oncology research output, is undergoing a major expansion to increase laboratory and research space.
Led by funding partner Aviva Capital Partners and development manager Socius, the £1bn ($1.4bn) facility will be built next to the established hub in Sutton. The one million square foot site will create 3,000 new jobs, with the majority of these positions reserved for high-skilled R&D and life science manufacturing professionals.
This expansion will also add to the current R&D capacity of the London Cancer Hub, which houses several researchers focused on drug discovery and development, as well as programmes focused on genetics, cancer imaging and radiotherapy. The site is already home to the Institute of Cancer Research, the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the Innovation Gateway.
The London Cancer Hub’s upgrade comes as the UK government looks to enact its new Life Sciences Sector Plan. The policy is designed to encourage scientific breakthroughs on UK soil over the next decade by providing government funding to British life sciences manufacturing and increasing its spend on innovative medicines.
These plans, led by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, debuted in July 2025 amid increasing concerns that the UK life sciences sector could be losing its competitiveness on the global stage.
It also falls in line with the government’s National Cancer Plan for England, which aims to expedite patient diagnosis and treatment access across the country. The initiative also aims to place the National Health Service (NHS) as the first-choice partner for cancer clinical trials through its cancer trials accelerator, which will see patients gain access to rare cancer clinical trials through the NHS app.
In further plans under this policy, the UK government is aiming to deliver up to 10,000 cancer vaccines, while supporting the rapid rollout of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted imaging analysis.
London Cancer Hub expansion welcomed by UK industry
According to the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) – the co-founding partner of the London Cancer Hub alongside the London Borough of Sutton – the site’s extension will attract innovative companies and skilled scientists from around the world, while creating a “vibrant, globally competitive life sciences ecosystem” at the campus.
Howard Dawber, Greater London’s deputy mayor of business and growth, echoed this sentiment, noting that the London Cancer Hub will both support emerging businesses and attract investment to the UK.
“Planning consent to expand the London Cancer Hub will further cement London as a global leader in health and innovation as we continue to build a better, more prosperous capital for everyone,” he said.
This move could represent a change in fortune for the city’s standing as a global life sciences hub, which recently took a blow when US pharma giant MSD (Merck & Co) called off its £1bn UK expansion in King’s Cross due to its discontent with the government’s investment in the pharma sector.
Outside of the nation’s capital, UK-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca also pulled the plug on its $450m vaccine manufacturing facility in Liverpool for similar reasons.
