Group items tagged

The newly-formed All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Life Sciences has written to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Jane Reeves, urging her to protect and promote the life sciences sector in the government's first Budget. The group, which includes MPs and peers, convened for its first meeting in Parliament on Tuesday (15 October) to discuss the steps the Labour government should take to ensure that the UK remains a global leader in life sciences research and commercialisation. Following the meeting, the group sent a letter to the Chancellor, expressing their support for the Labour Party's life sciences strategy, A Prescription for Growth, which was published before the general election. They urged the Chancellor to maintain government funding for life sciences research and manufacturing, as well as the tax reliefs that encourage investment, in the Budget set for 30 October. Kit Malthouse MP, chair of the APPG, emphasised the potential of the life sciences sector, saying, "The Life Sciences sector holds out an incredible promise that the UK can be at the forefront of humanity's battle with disease and at the same time build a 21st century knowledge-based economy.

The UK must act swiftly to fend off competition if it wants to build the world's leading life sciences sciences hub, a new report suggests. A year on from the launch of the government's life science vision, the report commissioned by the the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said although achieving the ambition remained feasible, the UK would need an attractive business environment because its competitor countries were becoming more adept at attracting investment. To achieve the ambition of the vision, the PwC-produced report suggested raising pharmaceutical R&D investment in the UK to build a 'stronger manufacturing and research infrastructure', alongside better investment in, access to and uptake of innovative medicines. It said the UK would also need to adopt a renewed approach to the priority healthcare challenges identified in the government's 'Life Science Vision', which would mean cutting the overall burden on health of dementia, cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease and mental health. The report quantified the size of the prize if the vision was implemented in full and the UK could emulate the successes of leading EU countries, which included: £68 billion in additional GDP over 30 years, owing to increased R&D investment £16.3 billion additional annual GDP from increased pharmaceutical exports Supporting 85,000 additional jobs Up to 40 per cent decrease in disease burden across the whole UK - for areas like cardiovascular disease, mental health conditions and Cancer. Reduced variation in speed of access to new medicines within three months of licensing for all NHS patients.