All-Party Parliamentary Group for Life Sciences relaunched to raise profile of the sector

All-Party Parliamentary Group for Life Sciences relaunched to raise profile of the sector

Pictured left to right: Jerome Mayhew MP, Lord Mair, Darren Stenlake (Sysmex UK), Chris Green MP, Charlotte Casebourne (Theolytics), Haseeb Ahmad (ABPI) and Steve McCabe MP.

On Thursday 27 February, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Life Sciences was relaunched. Chaired by Daniel Zeichner MP, the APPG will raise awareness of UK life sciences among parliamentarians and explore the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.

At its first meeting following the General Election, the APPG considered how parliamentarians, government and industry can work together to ensure that patients and the economy continue to benefit from innovation in the UK life sciences sector. Leading industry experts from biotech SME Theolytics, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and Sysmex UK spoke at the meeting, which was attended by MPs and members of the House of Lords.

Commenting on the re-launch, Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge and Chair of the APPG, said:

“I am delighted to continue as Chair of this APPG which will have a key role in highlighting to parliamentarians the valuable contribution our world-leading life sciences sector makes to the nation’s health and wealth. Over the next year, the APPG will work with my colleagues on both sides of the House consider how we can best ensure that we enable the sector to bring exciting new technologies and treatments to our constituents, while also boosting the UK economy.”

Chris Green, MP for Bolton West and Vice-Chair of the APPG, said:

“The life sciences sector employs over 250,000 people in the UK and two-thirds of these highly skilled jobs are outside the South East. The life sciences sector will have a crucial role in supporting the Government’s ambitions to unleash British science and increase investment in R&D. As Vice-Chair of the APPG, I look forward to enabling parliamentarians and industry to work together to achieve our common goal of making the UK a global hub for life sciences.”

Anthony Browne, MP for South Cambridgeshire and Vice-Chair of the APPG, said:

“The UK has an incredible legacy in life sciences and has a strong global competitive advantage. I’m excited about taking up this role as Vice-Chair of the APPG to support UK life sciences entrepreneurs all around the country who are working hard to harness the power of biology to improve patients’ lives and deliver cost-savings for our NHS.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. At the relaunch of the APPG, the following parliamentarians were elected as officers:

• Daniel Zeichner MP – Chair
• Chris Green MP – Vice-chair
• Anthony Browne MP – Vice-chair
• Lord Patel – Officer
• Jerome Mayhew MP – Officer

2. The APPG was originally formed in July 2015. The BioIndustry Association (BIA), the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), and the British In-Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA) jointly provide the secretariat for the APPG for Life Sciences. For more information please email [email protected].

3. For more information please contact Shannon Quinney, Communications Executive, 02076302183, [email protected].

 

About the BIA 

Established over 25 years ago at the infancy of biotechnology, the BioIndustry Association (BIA) is the trade association for innovative life sciences in the UK. Our goal is to secure the UK's position as a global hub and as the best location for innovative research and commercialisation, enabling our world-leading research base to deliver healthcare solutions that can truly make a difference to people's lives.