Now is the time to deliver a Budget that will allow entrepreneurs and innovative SMEs to thrive, says BIA

The UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) has released its submission to this year’s Budget, calling on the Government to:

• Rapidly refund and deploy the Biomedical Catalyst, which is shown to leverage up to £5 private investment for every £1 public money and increase employment by 11-15%
• Commit to work with the innovative life sciences industry to unleash British science
• Boost R&D tax credits targeted to enable UK SMEs to lead in health data 
• Deliver a £200m life sciences scale-up fund to allow companies to grow in the UK
• Establish the UK as a location for the next generation of medicines manufacturing

The BIA is asking the Government to follow its pro-science rhetoric with smart policies that will boost the innovative biotech sector as part of its “levelling up” agenda. Two thirds of life sciences jobs are outside London and the South East and BIA analysis has found that there are over 3,500 life sciences jobs in just 10 of the parliamentary constituencies that the Conservatives won from Labour at the last General Election.   
 

Steve Bates OBE, CEO of the BIA said: “This Budget is an opportunity for the Government to back its ambitious rhetoric with policies that can unleash the huge potential of biotech for the UK economy. Boris Johnson has been clear that he wants to see the biotech sector succeed and we stand ready to work with him to ensure it delivers benefits for all regions of the country”.

“The Biomedical Catalyst is a proven mechanism for leveraging private investment in R&D and should be central to the Government’s strategy to raise the UK’s investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

“Boosting and intelligently targeting R&D tax credits will enable entrepreneurs and innovative SMEs to build world-leading British life science companies while delivering value for the tax payer.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• For further information on the BIA’s budget submission, please contact Jack Fellows, Communications and Media Relations Manager at the BIA on 02076302196 or [email protected]
• The UK Life Sciences sector generates an annual turnover of £73.8 billion for the UK economy, supports 482,000 jobs, two-thirds of which are outside London and the South East. There are 5,870 companies in the sector, 80% of which are SMEs. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/bioscience-and-health-technology-sector-statistics-2018
• The Biomedical Catalyst is a competitive grant funding programme run by Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council. An Ipsos MORI analysis of its positive impact can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/biomedical-catalyst-impact-evaluation

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.