CEO update: Monday 21 May

Today the PM delivered a speech on the vital role AI can have in diagnosing chronic diseases and challenged the NHS, the AI sector and health charities to use data and AI to drastically improve current diagnosis capabilities to prevent 22,000 cancer deaths each year by 2033. The PM said that she is determined for the UK to lead the 4^th industrial revolution and highlighted the importance of "investing in science and research to keep us at the forefront of new technologies and the benefits they bring." It is great to see the government putting our sector and science funding at the fore of the Industrial Strategy. You can read the full speech here. 

Last week, I went to No 10 together with BIA Board member and Benevolent Bio CEO, Jackie Hunter, for the inaugural meeting of the Life Science Council. This new group is a partnership between government and industry to provide strategic oversight of the future of UK Life Sciences, including the delivery of the sector deals. On the government side, the Council is co-chaired by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Business Secretary Greg Clark, while Astra Zeneca’s Pascal Soriot is the chair for industry. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and Health Minister Lord O’Shaughnessy also attended the meeting. The Council will meet twice a year minimum, with secretariat support from both government and industry. The upgrading of industry engagement to a full Council – on par with the Automotive Council – is significant in terms of status and impact within government circles. The PM’s office released a press notice to mark the event, that you can read here.

While I was in meetings, the team was travelling widely – we attended conferences in Tel Aviv, Ghent and Glasgow.

In Tel Aviv, the BIA team attended Mixiii-Biomed together with over 6,000 participants from 45 countries and it was good to see a strong UK presence there.  The conference provided an insight into the highly innovative Israeli ecosystem, showcasing 45 start-up companies over the three days.  There is great potential for the UK to forge connections and collaborations with Israel, building on initiatives such as the recent signing of an MOU between the NHSA and the UK Israel Tech Hub.

The BIA team also headed to Ghent for BioEquity Europe, where it was interesting to catch up on the latest global investment news for the sector. There was a big focus on engaging with Chinese investors and this is something that the BIA is working on via the China Special Interest Group. It was also useful to hear the latest news on the European public markets and we will be keeping a close eye on their progress as we look towards out second Biotech Financing Update of the year coming out in July.

On Wednesday, the team was up in Glasgow delivering a workshop on accessing grant and venture capital funding in collaboration with Life Sciences Scotland and Enterprise Scotland. We also attended the Scottish Life Sciences Dinner and Annual Awards where it was great to see so many of our members. Congratulations to all the winners.   

Also on Wednesday, Innovate UK awarded £3m to BIA member the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult for Advanced Therapies Treatment Centres and to develop Advanced Therapies Manufacturing Apprenticeships. It is great to see the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund benefitting the sector and congratulations to the Catapult for securing this vital funding.

The UKRI launched its new Strategy last week, which aims to ensure UKRI responds to opportunities, fosters excellence and collaboration on the global stage, and nurtures current and future talent. We will continue to engage with Sir Mark and UKRI as the Strategy is developed further.

On the Brexit front, the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee released the report on its inquiry into the impact of Brexit on the pharma sector. The report highlights the need to secure the closest possible regulatory alignment with the EU as well as minimum border friction for the sake of patient safety and access to medicines. ABPI CEO Mike Thompson and I provided evidence to the Committee and we welcomed the report, agreeing that securing cooperation on the regulation, trade and supply of medicines must be a priority for both the UK Government and the EU. On Friday, I talked about this and other sector-specific Brexit news in our monthly Brexit webinar, available on our YouTube channel.

Today I’m meeting with the Life Sciences Minister Lord Henley to discuss Brexit and the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy. I’m also looking forward to seeing many of you later this week at our CEO and Investor Forum in Buckinghamshire for two days of interesting workshops, panel discussions and innovation showcases. Newscast is taking a break for next week’s bank holiday and will be back on Monday 4 June, where I will be writing from BIO in Boston. If you’re attending, make sure you check out our webinar on how to get the most out from the conference.

Best,

Steve