UK Life Science Salary Survey 2026: what the sector is actually paying
Our 2026 placement data across pharmaceutical, biotech, medical devices, and clinical research. The figures the job ads aren't telling you.
Photo by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash Every six months we sit down with our placement data and ask the same question: what is the UK life science sector actually paying for the roles we recruit?
The numbers below are based on 318 completed placements in the twelve months to April 2026, across pharma, biotech, medical devices, and clinical research. We have anonymised everything and rounded to the nearest £2,500.
Pharmaceutical
Medicinal Chemist (PhD, 3–6 years post-doc) — £62–82k. Average £71k. CNS and oncology command the top of the band.
Regulatory Affairs Manager — £65–88k. Average £74k. MDR/FDA dual-track experience adds a meaningful premium.
Medical Affairs Manager / Medical Science Liaison — £70–90k. Average £78k. Oncology therapy area adds £5–8k above this.
VP Regulatory Affairs — £145–200k base + bonus + equity. Significant variation by stage of company — NASDAQ-listed biotech pre-NDA pays materially more than established pharma.
Biotechnology
Senior Scientist (PhD, 5+ years) — £68–88k. Average £76k. Cell and gene therapy roles command the highest premiums.
Principal Scientist — £85–110k. Average £95k.
VP Research / CSO (Series B+) — £150–220k base + equity. The equity component is often the most significant element of total compensation at this level.
Medical Devices
Regulatory Affairs Specialist (EU MDR, Class IIb) — £52–70k. Average £60k. The most in-demand profile in the medtech market.
Regulatory Affairs Manager (Class IIb/III, MDR) — £68–88k. Average £76k.
R&D Engineer (5+ years, medical devices) — £58–78k. Average £66k.
Quality Manager / QA Director — £75–105k. Average £88k. ISO 13485 experience is the baseline; FDA 21 CFR Part 820 experience adds premium.
Clinical Research
Clinical Research Associate (3–5 years) — £42–55k + car allowance. Average £48k + £5,400 car allowance. Oncology experience adds £3–5k.
Senior CRA (5+ years, oncology) — £55–70k + car allowance. Average £62k.
Clinical Trial Manager — £65–85k. Average £74k. At CROs; sponsor-side is typically 10–15% higher.
Head of Clinical Operations (biotech) — £105–140k + bonus + equity. The equity component is increasingly the differentiating element for Series B and later companies.
If you would like the underlying data broken down by therapeutic area, geography, or seniority, we share the full dataset with serious clients on request. Email us and we'll send it across.