26 May ‘Jewel in the Crown’ to ‘Life Science for Growth’
It was Prime Minister David Cameron, who, in 2011, first said that the UK life sciences sector is “a jewel in the crown of our economy”. In the twelve years since, there has been no fewer than four national strategies published, including three in five years.
Following the latest Life Sciences Council on Thursday, the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has published the government’s latest multi-faceted, and ten policies-strong, initiative to support economic growth across health and life sciences, R&D, clinical trails, skills and infrastructure.
It is, by its own admission, an “ambitious” collation of announcements that spans well identified deficiencies in the sector, such as the lack of effective transportation east-to-west in the ‘Golden Triangle’, to a potentially transformative review – led by former Health Minister, Lord O’Shaughnessy – in speeding up the delivery of clinical trials and boosting patient involvement in research.
The strong signals emanating from government are part of a longer-term strategy to renew and refresh the UK’s attractiveness to global pharmaceutical powers. AstraZeneca decided it would rather invest in Ireland last year, and Moderna’s commitment to a new facility in Harwell, Oxfordshire, was sweetened by a government commitment to future-proof its vaccine portfolio with an additional 114 million doses.
A similar tactic has been utilised in another sector this week – with Jaguar Land Rover’s landmark decision to invest in the UK cushioned by fiscal incentives and commitments to its owners, Tata. There is clearly a double-pronged strategy from the government; to present as conducive as possible a UK market to potential investors, and to, where required, quietly cajole.
With the leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, also using this week to launch his party’s vision for the NHS – the health of both the population, and the sector that discovers and delivers much of the medicines and technologies that underpin it, will be a fierce electoral battleground.
The Labour Party has published its own prospectus for the sector, and Shadow Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, is known to be working closely with his Shadow Cabinet colleague, Jonathan Reynolds, as the latter develops the party’s Industrial Strategy in the run-up to the next general election.
The cross-party focus on, and commitment to, the life sciences sector is to be welcomed. For it has delivered tangible results for public health both domestically and internationally over recent years, most clearly evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the UK led with the discovery of new treatments and vaccines. It is hard to overstate its importance to the UK’s economic health, and its ability to maintain and develop our quality of life.
As part of the concurrent Treasury Connect series, the Chancellor told industry last month that he had well-identified the key challenges facing the life sciences sector, including innovation adoption in the NHS, pricing negotiations and access, clinical trials, onshoring manufacturing and post-Brexit regulations. The case for reform, particularly with the lost impetus post pandemic, to build the UK life sciences into a global hub that makes it the home of clinical research and medical innovation is overwhelming.
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