Pharmaceutical and medical technology leaders have welcomed the UK government’s new Life Sciences Sector Plan, recently unveiled as part of its flagship Industrial Strategy.

The ten-year mission aims to harness British science and innovation to drive long-term economic growth and create a stronger prevention-focused National Health Service (NHS).

Backed by more than GBP 2 billion in government funding, the plan is built around three core pillars: enabling world-class research and development; making the UK an outstanding place to start, scale and invest; and driving health innovation and NHS reform.

The government has outlined six bold actions to kickstart change. These include: up to 600 million investment to build the world’s most advanced health data system, cutting red tape to enable patients to join trials sooner, up to GBP 520 million to invest in life sciences manufacturing projects, simplifying and accelerating regulation by boosting departmental support for the MHRA, helping doctors use cutting-edge tech, supporting fast-growing companies to secure investment, scale up, and stay in the UK.

The Life Sciences Sector Plan will also receive additional backing from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

Industry leaders from across the pharmaceutical and biotech spectrum have praised the plan’s ambitions and practical reforms.

Dr Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer at GSK, particularly welcomed the reforms aimed at incentivising more UK clinical trials, establishing a new Health Data Research Service, and creating a network of translational labs and clinics to accelerate drug discovery and development. “These changes can bring a unique competitive advantage to the country and make the UK a leader in future life sciences research,” he said.

Paul Tredwell, EVP of Accord Healthcare, welcomed the plan’s recognition of the off-patent medicine sector, which supplies 80 percent of all the UK’s medicines. He said it marked a "positive step" towards growth and investment.

“As one of the largest manufacturers supplying medicines to the NHS, and a company currently applying to the government’s LSIMF scheme, we welcome this Sector Plan as a positive step and look forward to working with government on policies that will support future growth and investment,” he said.

Dr Kevin Lee, CEO of Bicycle Therapeutics, commended the vision to accelerate the growth of UK companies.  

“At Bicycle, we view this plan as an opportunity to support the advancement of our work to unlock the potential of our Nobel prize-winning science and create new medicines for a wide variety of diseases, starting with cancer,” Lee commented.

BioNTech’s CEO, Professor Ugur Sahin, emphasised the importance of cross-sector collaboration to improve patients’ access to innovative treatments, adding that the plan “has the potential to transform medicine through real progress in cancer care and beyond- both in the UK and globally.”

Mike Fairbourn, Vice President and General Manager for the UK and Ireland at Becton Dickinson, highlighted the crucial role of medical technology in driving better health outcomes and economic growth, as underscored in the plan.

“Together, we can unlock the full potential of the UK’s medical technology industry to bolster the UK life sciences sector and the wider economy, and to benefit patients across the country,” he noted.

Hyoungki Kim, CEO of South Korea’s Celltrion, praised the recognition of biosimilars in the life sciences plan as “a critical means of delivering value to the NHS and expanding patient access.”

“The UK is an important supply destination for us, and we are planning substantial investments to expand our biosimilar medicine supply in the coming years,” she said.

Lars Petersen, CEO of FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, said he was pleased to see the critical role of innovative medicines manufacturers recognised as essential to the UK’s future growth

He called the plan “a clear roadmap” to unlocking the potential to fuel economic growth, spark groundbreaking innovation, and improve patient outcomes.

Darius Hughes, UK General Manager of Moderna, described the plan “as a bold and timely commitment to strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in healthcare innovation and adoption.”

“This Plan gets the fundamentals right, from smarter regulation to investing in talent and unlocking the potential of health data,” he added.

Richard Saynor, CEO of Sandoz, welcomed the target of GBP 1 billion in savings from biosimilars, calling it “realistic and achievable.

Deepak Nath, CEO of Smith+Nephew, praised the plan’s focus on the full life cycle of medical technologies.

Mark Samuels, chief executive of Medicines UK, welcomed the recognition of their vital role of generics and biosimilars, which account for four in every five NHS prescriptions.

He commented, "The off-patent sector operates in a highly competitive global environment. To maintain supply and attract sustained investment, the UK must offer a policy and operating landscape that is both supportive and internationally attractive.”

"We are encouraged by the strategy's ambition and clarity - particularly its objective to make the UK a world leader in the adoption of off-patent medicines, with a strong emphasis on biosimilars,” Samuels added.

However, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has warned that the core ambition of the strategy will not be realised unless it makes a real commitment to invest more in new medicines.

 “This plan recognises both the extraordinary contributions of the life sciences sector to the UK, and the fact that in recent years, it has been struggling to remain competitive and attractive to investment. The solutions proposed are necessary and important, but they are not enough to turn around the UK's decline,” said Richard Torbett, Chief Executive of the ABPI.

 “The UK must address the core issue holding back the life sciences sector, the long-term disinvestment in innovative medicines that is increasingly preventing NHS patients from accessing medications that are available in other countries.

“For too long, the UK has sought to be the place where innovation happens, but not the place where it is used. Without change, the UK will continue the slow slide down international league tables for research, investment, and the availability of new medicines,” he added.

The association highlighted that the rapidly rising payment rates under the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) and the Statutory Scheme are undermining government efforts to make life sciences a key pillar of its industrial strategy.

 These schemes currently claim between 23.5 percent and 35.6 percent of companies’ revenues from sales of branded medicines to the NHS, significantly higher than rates in other countries.

The ABPI is calling on the government to set out a clear plan to bring UK payment rates back in line with international norms.