Britain could lead the global race in life sciences
The life and health sciences industry is worth £50 billion a year to the British economy, and employs 175,000 people, one estimate says.
This figure relates strictly to bio-pharmaceuticals, however, the Bioscience and health technology database: annual report 2014, shows data relating to medical technology, medical biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and industrial biotechnology, and puts figures in the UK closer to £56 billion. This report also says that there are an estimated 183,000 people employed in the life sciences sector which is comprised of nearly 4,398 companies.
The government-run, Strategy for UK Life Sciences, received £3.5 billion private sector investment which was attracted into the UK between December 2011-2014 and is still increasing. This has created over 11,000 jobs and displays the growth within this industry in the last two years.
However, the UK is restrained by European regulations and, there are worries that as life science developments continue, there might be regulations put into place that could hold the UK back from competing with emerging economies in Asia and elsewhere.
Britain’s first Life Sciences Minister, George Freeman, said: “It’s really important that the EU put in place an enlightened regulatory framework so that the UK and the EU are able to lead in these emerging markets, rather than regulate ourselves into a backwater and miss the opportunity to unlock the power of our huge science base to help tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.”
The UK life sciences industry could also save the public sector a lot of money by implementing more innovative, digital technologies into hospitals and GPs. Patients could soon be able to access the NHS digitally by booking appointments on iPads or online and use digital devices to arrange a collection of prescriptions.
This development is a way to move away from 20th century health model where health was something ‘done to citizens’ and move it to a 21st century system which Freeman said citizens can, ‘take more responsibility for our life and health choices.’
Original interview with George Freeman by John Ashmore, Politics Home.