Transforming health data into a national asset for patients and the economy

The BioIndustry Association (BIA) today publishes its report BIA’s health data vision 2035: harnessing a national asset for growth, setting out how the UK can securely harness its world-leading health data as a strategic national asset to drive economic growth, improve patient outcomes, and support long-term NHS sustainability.

The report calls for coordinated action across government, the NHS, regulators, academia and industry to unlock this opportunity. Central to this is a clear mandate for Health Data Research Service (HDRS) to prioritise UK value creation by enabling health innovators and job creators to access and use health data effectively, through systems that maintain public trust.

Healthcare costs currently account for 11% of UK GDP and are rising approximately 1.5 times faster than economic growth, driven by an ageing population and an increasing prevalence of chronic disease. A more efficient NHS and economic growth, both enabled by innovation, are key to addressing this challenge.

A critical window for action

The Prime Minister’s announcement of the creation of HDRS marked a pivotal step in harnessing the power of health data for research and innovation. As a secure gateway, HDRS has the potential to allow us to better understand disease, accelerate clinical trials, support innovation and enable new treatments, strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in life sciences. However, its success will depend on aligning policy, funding and delivery behind a single objective: supporting UK-based innovation and the adoption of data-driven solutions across the NHS. Critically, the value generated from UK health data must be captured in the UK for patients, the NHS and the economy.

The report warns that decisions taken over the next five years will determine whether the UK successfully harnesses its health data to benefit the population and economy or falls behind rapidly accelerating global competition already investing heavily in large-scale data infrastructure.

Success will require coordinated action across government, the NHS, regulators, academia and industry to enable innovation and its adoption at scale.

Dr Emma Lawrence, Head of Data Tech Policy and Public Affairs at BIA, said:

This report sets out our vision for a future where improved access to health data through HDRS is used to transform the NHS and our world-leading life sciences industry. From discovery science, through to clinical trials and clinical care, data will be harnessed to foster innovation to change lives. Health data will ensure that the right treatments reach the right patient at the right time, shifting the move to prevention, precision and personalised care. Importantly, getting HDRS set up from the start to support innovative UK companies will shape better health for NHS patients for years to come, and in tandem drive economic growth and job creation across the country.

Positioning the NHS as a growth engine

The UK has the opportunity to build a trusted, secure, interoperable and accessible health data ecosystem, supporting more personalised, preventive healthcare and driving UK-based life sciences innovation.

The BIA’s ambitions for this national resource are to improve population health and drive economic growth, transform the NHS into a research-enabled, innovation-driven system, embed data across the health system to improve outcomes, accelerate UK-led discovery and commercialisation, and position the UK as a global leader in data-driven and AI-enabled life sciences. This will be underpinned by a secure, ethical data environment trusted by patients, clinicians, researchers and the public. Better use of health data can deliver significant benefits for patients, the NHS, life sciences innovators and the wider economy; from earlier diagnosis and more efficient services to faster innovation and increased investment.  Without deliberate action, the report warns the UK risks generating world-leading science while capturing too little of the downstream economic value.

Dr Steve Gardner, CEO of PrecisionLife and Chair of BIA’s Data, AI and Genomics Committee, added:

The UK has an opportunity to lead the data-enabled health revolution with HDRS, but only if it marries investment in its data ecosystem to intentional and coordinated policy changes that support UK businesses, to enable responsible innovation and create value alongside the NHS. The coming decade will bring new challenges and opportunities for the UK health and life sciences, including the affordability of healthcare, ubiquitous applications of AI, integration of electronic health and other care records, multiomics and a clinical system in transition from hospital to home, from treatment to prevention and from one-size-fits-all clinical pathways to more personalised care.

Kate Bingham, Managing Partner, SV Health Investors, commented:

This report is right to identify health data as one of the UK’s outstanding assets. We have world-class science, a single-payer health system and the potential to generate clinically meaningful insights at national scale. But we have not yet turned that advantage reliably into scaled UK companies, sustained domestic investment or faster patient benefit. Too often, the value created by UK science is captured elsewhere. The priority now is execution: enabling UK innovators to build, finance and grow their companies here. If we get this right, we can attract much greater global investment, strengthen the UK life sciences sector and, most importantly, give patients earlier access to better treatments and better outcomes.

Dr Martin Turner, Director of Policy and External Affairs, BIA, commented:

The UK has all the ingredients to lead in data-driven life sciences, with world-class science, a unique health system and innovative start-ups and growing companies. But without action, we risk generating world-leading ideas while the economic value and jobs flow elsewhere. HDRS is a critical intervention, but it must be designed to support UK companies to access data, innovate and scale. If we get this right, we can drive economic growth and high-skilled job creation across the UK. If we get it wrong, we risk missing a generational opportunity.