BIA submission to the Labour start-up review

The life sciences and biotech sector plays a significant part in furthering many of the Labour Party’s ambitions for the UK, including rebooting economic growth, providing high-wage jobs and levelling-up opportunities across all parts of the country, delivering Net Zero and improving the health of the nation. Our sector is reliant on innovation led by start-ups, which must progress through a long and expensive R&D and growth pipeline. Venture capital (VC) funding for the sector has grown in recent years to record levels, showing the strength of the industry, but it remains fragile and too reliant on overseas capital. This in turn stymies the development of a UK ecosystem that delivers economic and social benefits.