UK government pumps cash into the life sciences

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has announced a £650 million ($800 million) investment in the nation’s life sciences industry. “These are businesses that are growing our economy while having much wider benefits for our health—and this multi-million pound investment will help them go even further,” Hunt says in a statement accompanying the announcement.

The UK life sciences sector is a lucrative £94 billion industry but several recent indicators hint at a decline. According to a 2022 UK Board of Trade report, manufacturing revenue shrank by £7.7 billion from 2011 to 2020. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry recently noted that the number of UK new clinical trials fell by 41% between 2017 and 2021.

The UK “punches above its weight when it comes to discovery research in the life sciences,” says Sana Zakaria, a research leader at RAND Corporation. “But it doesn’t really have the economic and the regulatory infrastructure and incentives to support commercialization activity at scale.”

The latest life sciences financing seeks to correct this imbalance. Of the new investment, £121 million is earmarked for improving clinical trials, and £250 million will go toward encouraging pension schemes to invest in life sciences businesses. £154 million will be invested in the expansion of the UK Biobank, a repository of genetic and health information from half a million participants.

How far the investment shakes up the life sciences industry depends on whether it gels with other developments in supporting sectors, Zakaria says. As examples, she cites the government’s £1 billion for the semiconductor industry a week prior and the publication of the Science and Technology Framework action plan that will guide public policy.

“The injection of cash is really welcomed by industry, but it’s just one part of the broader ecosystem,” Zakaria says. “In terms of the impact, it will truly only be felt when we see where all of these other pieces line up with this investment.”