Life Sciences Industrial Strategy – report by Sir John Bell

The report contains a draft of recommendations. These include improving existing aspects, such as enhancing UK clinical trial capabilities and strengthening collaboration between the NHS and industry, as well as the creation of entirely new industries via the establishment of a Health Advanced Research Programme.

The importance of R&D is recognised, with a recommendation to increase the current R&D spend of 1.6% GDP to 2.6% over the next 5 years, in order to put the UK into the top quartile of OECD countries.

The report highlights a gap in the earliest stages in the pipeline of translational research in the UK (resulting in, for example, around 10 times fewer patents per quality academic publication compared to Germany and the US). The report suggests the formation of a translational fund to encourage the pre-commercial creation of clinically-useful candidates for drugs and medical devices to plug the gap.

Other proposals include a more favourable tax environment for the sector, as well as encouraging investment in technology clusters, manufacturing facilities and data hubs

In a nod to the post-Brexit landscape, the report recommends developing a migration system to facilitate the recruitment and retention of the most highly skilled workers from the EU and beyond, and developing a framework for close cooperation with sector-relevant EU regulatory bodies such as the European Medicines Agency.

Click here to download a copy of the 75-page report.

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