The government has published a new Life Sciences Vision strategy which sets out its agenda for the sector over the next ten years. At the forefront of the document is a mission to boost research into dementia and promote the earlier diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The strategy promises to build on the successes of the UK’s response to Covid-19.
The plan was co-developed with businesses and industry experts to set out a healthcare framework which will focus on the prevention, early diagnosis, and monitoring of disease in the early stages. Research and development into new drugs, diagnostics, and medical technology will be prioritised, so they can be rolled out within shorter timescales.
The strategy has been welcomed by leaders in the life sciences industry, Pharma Phorum reports. The BioIndustry Association (BIA) and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) both collaborated with the government to draw up the document.
ABPI chief executive Richard Torbett said it is an “ambitious…blueprint for how the UK can become a global hub for life sciences and, in turn, a science superpower.”
A recent BIA revealed that the UK’s biotech companies now rank third in the world, after US hubs in Massachusetts and San Francisco. The UK industry attracted almost £1.6bn in financing between March and the end of May. The government is also launching a £200m Life Sciences Investment programme, which is set to attract £400m in private capital.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “We are indebted to the ingenuity of UK life sciences and its pioneers, with the discovery of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and the seamless collaboration between our scientists, industry, regulators and NHS saving millions of lives during the pandemic.”
Johnson added: “We must make sure this is the norm and use this new way of working to search for life-changing breakthroughs against diseases such as cancer, dementia and obesity, as we have done with COVID.”
Besides forefronting the fight against cancer and dementia, the strategy will sustain the momentum in vaccine discovery, development, and manufacturing. It will also focus on the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease and target major risk factors such as obesity, and reducing the mortality rates from respiratory diseases.
Furthermore, the blueprint seeks to address the underlying biology of aging, and increase the understanding of mental health conditions.
The government has also outlined the ways it intends to support industry to achieve these aims. It has set out a plan to simplify the governance and oversight of NHS health data, promote the role of the NHS as an innovation partner, and boost spending on research and development. It will also seek to broaden the ways UK companies can access finance.
The blueprint has also proposed the creation of a Life Science Scale Up Taskforce, which will identify and work to overcome issues which are obstructing further development in the sector. With health and science high on the agenda, the UK is fast becoming a Life Sciences superpower, with clear ambitions for the future.
Many recruitment agencies and employers now use social media to source job candidates, so it should be used not just in your personal life, but also to help you find the right career.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, over the past year, organisations have stepped up their use of social media in the recruiting process even further, so you will be missing out on opportunities if you don’t have an up to date online presence.
Social media sites allow you to establish your professional brand, and connect with influencers who can help raise your profile and direct you to the most appropriate contacts. You will also have access to job adverts which may be exclusively on social networking platforms, and your CV will be seen by a much wider range of potential employers.
You will not only be more visible to recruiters, but you will also be able to apply for roles more quickly and easily, giving you a competitive advantage over other jobseekers. Job boards often contain adverts which are already several days old, but a range of social media contacts will allow you to interact with recruiters in real time.
The social media landscape changes rapidly, and if you don’t currently have any online presence, it can be difficult to know where to begin. A good starting point is to join LinkedIn, which is the ‘go-to’ site for recruiters and head-hunters to search for candidates. It essentially acts as an online CV where you can showcase your skills.
You can also include personal testimonials on LinkedIn to lend credibility and authenticity to your profile. They could be from managers, colleagues, academic contacts, or anyone you have worked for in the past. Even If you think your CV is enough, recruiters will usually look for your LinkedIn profile too, and may think it odd or even suspect if you don’t have one.
If you feel like you don’t have the time or inclination for more than one networking site, then just join LinkedIn. However, broadening your network could also widen your chances of landing your perfect job. Twitter is a more informal network than LinkedIn, where people post and exchange short messages and images, and retweet links to useful websites.
Companies often use it to briefly advertise roles, with a link to a more detailed web page. You can set up a profile and follow companies in your field of interest, and any relevant publications, societies, and so on. Some people use Twitter in a personal or humorous manner, but keep your profile professional and avoid wading into any online conflicts.
Facebook is a huge social networking site with billions of users, including recruiters and businesses. If you want to include it in your job search, pay close attention to your privacy settings, because it is easy for the boundaries between your personal and professional life to become blurred.
Even if you are not actively job hunting, future recruiters will be reassured by a consistent and credible online presence, so it is a great idea to cultivate your network as soon as possible, and keep it up to date.
British multinational pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has set out its vision for a new life sciences campus in Stevenage, which could create up to 5,000 jobs over the next decade.
BBC News reports that the company intends to sell 33 acres of land at its 92-acre R&D site in Stevenage, turning it into one of Europe’s largest ‘clusters’ for biotech and early-stage life science companies.
Stevenage, just north of London, is a key location for GSK, as it is one of the firm’s two global R&D hubs, and it is already the UK’s largest cell and gene therapy cluster, and the third-largest globally.
The Stevenage site already hosts GSK’s R&D facilities, the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGTC), and the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC) – the latter of which is home to more than 40 companies.
The new campus, which is planned to sit next to GSK’s existing site, aims to deliver 100,000 square metres of new floor space for commercial life sciences R&D.
GSK believes the project can unlock up to £400m in new investment from a private sector developer to build up the new campus.
It is hoped that the new campus will attract world-class research organisations to Stevenage, and create opportunities for collaboration in the sector.
Tony Wood, Senior Vice President, Medicinal Science & Technology, GSK said: “The past 18 months have shown the UK life sciences sector at its best and the UK has recently unveiled an ambitious 10-year vision for the UK life sciences sector.
“Our goal is for Stevenage to emerge as a top destination for medical and scientific research by the end of the decade. We are excited to find a development partner to realise our vision to foster the next generation of world-class scientists and biotechnology firms in Britain.”
The diagnostics industry has been at the forefront of the battle against the global pandemic, with new technologies and solutions being developed more efficiently than ever before. The industry is now looking to artificial intelligence and digitisation to address the cancer screening backlogs that have built up during the pandemic.
Lifescience Industry reports that the innovation which was brought about in response to the global Covid outbreak will inform the approach to improving the detection, prevention, and treatment of breast and cervical cancer across the UK during the next few years.
There is currently a significant backlog, as breast and cervical cancer screening programmes were put on hold for several months. It is estimated that 600,000 cervical screening appointments were missed in April and May 2020. Furthermore, 986,000 mammograms were missed, meaning that up to 10,700 women may be living with undiagnosed cancer.
Testing is now resuming as the number of patients hospitalised with Covid is remaining low, despite the rise in cases. The article explains that new diagnostic procedures, particularly artificial intelligence guided imaging, are seen as a key tool to tackle delays in cancer diagnosis.
As cervical and breast cancer detection relies on visual detection of rare, subtle changes, it is ideally suited to AI. In this case, AI means the application of medical imaging to help accelerate detection and diagnosis. High quality images require advanced cloud storage solutions and high resolution.
The advanced technology will help to increase breast screening capacity, as fewer staff members will need to be involved in the diagnostic process. It is estimated that the process will be speeded up, as 13% less time is needed to read the mammogram images.
AI also has great potential to increase the efficiency of cervical cancer screening. The digital cytology systems are able to evaluate tens of thousands of cells from a single patient in a matter of seconds, and present the most relevant diagnostic material for analysis by a cytotechnologist. This has proved to increase efficiency without sacrificing accuracy.
A £20m fund to help manufacturers in the life sciences sector across the country has been open to applications.
The Medicines and Diagnostics Manufacturing Transformation Fund, previously announced in November 2020, was intended to help life science recruitment and development spread further across the country and create economic opportunities in a fast-moving sector.
The fund is primarily aimed at MedTech, medical diagnostics and human medicines projects which are set to cost over £8m.
All successful applicants will receive a share of the £20m fund, helping to boost innovation in a sector worth £80bn annually to the UK and has been a vital lifeline over the past year.
It is also a sector that has multiple hubs outside of London and the South East of England, with two-thirds of life sciences businesses being headquartered in the rest of the UK.
As well as this, manufacturers must be able to meet manufacturing and medical regulations, which differ depending on the end product.
For MedTech and diagnostics innovations, the device needs to meet safety and performance requirements as set by the Medical Devices Regulations. If it is not in place yet, then the application may ask how the device will be proven to meet these regulations.
On the other hand, for medicines and vaccines, the business must hold a license to produce medication, either in the form of an Investigational Medicinal Products Directive (IMP) or Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Human Medicines Directive licence.
If the business does not have either, then it must show that it is in the process of applying for and getting one of these licenses.
Given the reliance on the innovative spirit of the life sciences sector over the past year, in particular, this fund will help complement the work of life sciences accelerator funds in helping to get several innovative medical businesses off the ground.
The funding application process begins with five gateway questions which ensure that the project is eligible for funding to begin with before the full application form is completed.
Once the application form is completed fully then the first round of sifting begins, and the application will be rejected based on the following criteria:
Applications that meet these criteria will be put through to the full appraisal round, with applications prioritised by how closely they are within the scope of the fund.
At this stage, each applicant will work with a case officer, who will ask for details regarding the state of the business in relation to the applications. This includes looking at the financial state of the business and how likely they are to deliver on the project they propose.
After this, the applications will be taken to an investment board, either an internal board for the fund or the Industrial Development Advisory board for applications over £5m.
They will look specifically into the requested amounts and judge whether this is the right amount of money to help support the project.
After this, government ministers in charge of the project will look over the results of these assessments and will choose the projects that will receive grant money. Any that do will get a letter that they must respond to within ten days.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock set out his plans for the future of the UK life sciences sector at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) annual conference.
The speech, published in a GOV.UK press release highlights the significant advancements made in the life sciences sector since the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, from developing treatments for the coronavirus and launching the first Antivirals Taskforce, to the rollout of the UK’s vaccination programme.
To help the nation achieve its life sciences superpower status, Hancock announced there would be £37 million worth of new investments in genomics projects and data-driven incentives.
Genomics England projects supporting the implementation of the Genome UK strategy will receive £17m, including funding to explore public attitudes to, and the potential value of, newborn sequencing, contributing to the increase in data from ethnic minorities in genomic cohorts and data sets and supporting a next-generation approach to cancer diagnosis.
Hancock said: “We’ve managed to accelerate things, that often happens in a crisis, but crucially, we’ve got to hold on to those things and translate the lessons we’ve learned, especially from the things that have gone well – the discovery of dexamethasone, our vaccines project.”
He said that the UK public has never been more engaged in health research and that enthusiasm needs to be harnessed with further projects that tackle cancer, dementia, and preventing heart disease.
Support for the UK Functional Genomics Initiative will help drive innovative approaches to improve understanding of how genetic changes cause disease. Genomics sequencing will be used as a routine part of everyday diagnosis and treatment.
£20 million will be invested in initiatives to harness UK health data for life sciences research as part of the ambition to make the UK the most advanced and data-enabled clinical research environment in the world.
This includes investment in clinical trials, funding to develop medicines and vaccines, health technologies to support cutting-edge research such as the COVID-19 vaccine trials, and studies supporting the earlier detection of disease.
Hancock also pledged to make the UK a global leader in manufacturing, especially in medicines, to help grow UK-based business and to encourage further investment, highlighting the establishment of the new Medicines and Diagnostics Manufacturing Transformation Fund.
Hancock said a message to would-be investors in the life sciences sector is that the government is committed to free trade and contract law and that the industry, being global in nature, depends on international collaboration and international supply chains, possibly more than any other industry.
“But we know, and I believe fundamentally, that the best way to protect all our supply chains is not protectionism, it’s openness,” he added.
“I want to make crystal clear Britain’s unshakeable commitment to free trade and contract law – a covenant on life sciences, if you like, that gives those who want to invest and build their businesses in the UK the assurance they need that you can export the medicines made here to your destination market.”
A large-scale business innovation hub in Birmingham specialising in life sciences and healthcare technology is one step closer to completion after being granted planning permission by Birmingham City Council.
Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, funded by the council and receiving support from the University of Birmingham and major life sciences accelerator Bruntwood SciTech, is set to begin construction work in Selly Oak this summer.
The building will be able to offer 133,000 square feet of office and laboratory space, with a particular focus on precision medicine, digital healthcare, MedTech and biopharmaceuticals, offering a boost to businesses looking to make Birmingham their business hub.
The Campus has claimed several major infrastructural benefits from working with them, from high-quality workspaces to access to a clinical trials translation ecosystem fully connected to the West Midlands NHS trusts.
There are also plans for a cafe, indoor and outdoor events spaces, on-site car parking, cycle storage and a range of meeting rooms.
The Campus is one major step towards positioning the West Midlands as a hub for health innovation and life sciences recruitment, which in 2020 led to over £1.12bn in investment.
By the end of the decade, the West Midlands aims to be the home of over 650,000 square feet of high-end lab and office space, as well as 10,000 new life sciences professionals. All of this is estimated to be worth over £400m extra to the regional economy.
Bruntwood SciTech’s managing director called the Campus the “epicentre” where all the raw ingredients the life sciences sector needs can come together to create important health innovations from early R&D to being a part of everyday life.