London-based strategic branding agency takes on the UK’s most significant applied health innovation commission, as East London’s £800m life sciences destination prepares for a global launch

Ascend Studio, the London-based strategic branding agency with expertise in life sciences, innovation, real estate and placemaking, has been appointed to define a distinctive position, the brand strategy and identity of the Barts Life Sciences Cluster – a major new health innovation district planned for Whitechapel, London, that’s set to become one of the most significant applied health innovation destinations in the world.

Backed by over £800 million in planned investment, the cluster is centred around The Royal London Hospital and the wider Barts Health NHS Trust – institutions with nearly a millennium of medical progress since St Bartholomew’s was founded in 1123.

The cluster will support companies working across AI, robotics, healthtech, medtech, diagnostics and data-enabled care.

Ascend was selected for its rare combination of strategic depth, sector understanding and award-winning creative firepower – spanning the science, the stakeholders, the investment narrative and the communities the project is built to serve. The contract covers the full brand programme, from strategic platform and positioning to visual identity and creative direction, to be deployed across investor, occupier, public and political audiences.

The brand promise will anchor the cluster’s identity in its institutional heritage and its forward-facing ambition.

Why brand is foundational to success

•         Attracting the right investment and occupiers

In a globally competitive life sciences market, the most innovative companies and capital allocators have real choice about where they locate. A strategically built brand will communicate the cluster’s unique clinical infrastructure, institutional credibility and a diverse population – making the case for Barts above peer destinations before a single conversation takes place.

•         Bolstering the UK’s life sciences economy

With the government committed to making the UK the third-largest life sciences economy in the world by 2031, national ambition depends on world-class destinations that can be clearly articulated and globally marketed. The cluster’s brand will position this corner of East London as critical infrastructure – amplifying political momentum, building public support and cementing the UK’s reputation as the destination of choice for applied health innovation.

Paul Croxton, Founder and Creative Director, Ascend Studio, said, “This is one of the most strategically important branding commissions in the UK right now. Barts Life Sciences Cluster has an extraordinary story to tell – institutions with nearly a millennium of medical progress since St Bartholomew’s was founded, one of the NHS’s largest and most diverse clinical environments, significant investment backing and a future-facing ambition to help health technologies move from ideas to global impact that will improve lives.”

“Our role is to shape that promise into a brand that feels as distinctive, credible and progressive as the opportunity itself – with rigorous strategy and radical creativity anchored in reason. The ambition is to connect on a genuinely human level to attract the right audiences, bring the local community along with it and help put Whitechapel on the global map of life sciences.” 

Rakesh Uppal, CEO, Barts Life Sciences, said, “As we continue working with Ascend to establish our brand, their rigorous, passionate and deeply strategic creative approach has already shifted our mindset and sharpened our focus, and we’re incredibly excited about where we’re heading. Their extensive experience in the innovation sector, combined with a proven track record in major real estate projects, gives them a rare breadth of perspective. For a complex, multi‑stakeholder project, that’s invaluable.”