This unit covers the emergence of the Life Sciences sector out of its precursor the pharmaceutical industry. After examining some historical perspectives it uses case studies to look at developments in the science, business and, primarily, management strategies used in Life Sciences. It also briefly considers Life Sciences' place in the wider story of health provision. This introductory unit will be of interest to managers in the Life Sciences sector and to the general reader. This study unit is just one of many that can be found on LearningSpace, part of OpenLearn, a collection of open educational resources from The Open University. Published in ePub 2.0.1 format, some feature such as audio, video and linked PDF are not supported by all ePub readers.