Chris Whitehouse, a political consultant and expert on medical technology policy and regulation at Whitehouse Communications, an advisor to MedTech suppliers, chair of the Urology Trade Association, and governor of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, highlights a new government strategy that feature the potential economic contribution of the life sciences.
Rachel Reeves, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer and Jonathan Reynolds, Business Secretary, have published a new Modern Industrial Strategy setting out how government intends to deliver growth.
The Strategy, Invest 2035, will focus on the sectors which offer the highest growth opportunity for the economy and business. Eight growth-driving sectors have been identified:
- advanced manufacturing
- clean energy industries
- creative industries
- defence
- digital and technologies
- financial services
- life sciences
- professional and business services
Industry is being invited to comment on the strategy through a detailed online questionnaire which can be found here, by 24th November. Feedback on the document, which has the status of a Green Paper, will be used to develop a full modern industrial strategy to be launched in Spring 2025.
Building on the UK’s existing strengths in areas such as life sciences, renewables and emerging technologies – including AI – the UK, the paper argues, can grow the economy and project strategic leadership at the forefront of geopolitical competition, while being better placed to respond to future shocks.
It defines economic security objectives for the industrial strategy as being to:
- promote key sectors in the economy which drive growth and strengthen economic security
- reduce supply chain and other vulnerabilities in growth-driving sectors which could harm their long-term growth or ability to deliver critical outputs
- ensure national security risks inform the approach to driving growth in these sectors
The paper highlights opportunities for life sciences:
‘Over the next decade, the life sciences sector holds enormous potential to drive economic growth and productivity while significantly improving health outcomes for thousands of patients across the country. This sector delivers goods that are critical to the functioning of our economy and society and increases the UK’s resilience, for example, to epidemics. Recent breakthroughs, such as the development of promising new vaccines targeting cancer, underscore the transformative impact of the sector. The UK’s life sciences sector offers unparalleled opportunities for future economic growth, propelled by:
- new discoveries
- data availability
- AI
- groundbreaking treatments
- personalised healthcare
- innovative manufacturing processes’
The paper goes on to affirm that the UK’s life sciences sector is built on a strong foundation, with over 6,800 businesses in 2021 to 2022 that generated over £100 billion in turnover. The UK is also home, it notes, to 4 of the top 10 global universities for life sciences and medicine, and that with the expertise of the NHS, the UK is a global hub for innovation.
The MedTech sector should seize this opportunity to input its thoughts on barriers that can be removed in the development and adoption of innovative devices and applications; and how government can help nurture the talent of the sector.
Comments upon or questions about this article can be addressed to chris.whitehouse@whitehousecomms.com
