CEO update - 16 December 2024
New legislation was laid in Parliament last Thursday to modernise the regulation of clinical trials in the UK. This new legal architecture is an important milestone in the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) biggest overhaul of the clinical trial regulations in 20 years.
The contents are not unfamiliar to us as the framework has been discussed and debated for a while – including at our regulatory conference – so it’s good to see it getting the parliamentary time needed to become legislation.
Steve Bates OBE
CEO, BIA
Regarding our response, the BIA has highlighted that prioritising new legislation for clinical trials was important to ensure the UK remains an attractive destination for international clinical trials, enabling patient access to innovative medicines sooner. Moreover, we have submitted a response to the informal consultation on the draft HRA-MHRA Inclusion and Diversity Guidance for clinical trials, which was developed with input from the BIA Regulatory Affairs Advisory Committee.
Furthermore, in Parliament, the Science and Technology Committee of the Commons announced it’s making an inquiry into how technology can boost regional growth – a good opportunity for companies outside the southeast to gain recognition in the new year for the innovation they are delivering.
TechBio Boost Demo Day
Our TechBio Boost Demo Day last Wednesday was a spectacular success. The entrepreneurs who participated in our TechBio Boost programme, demonstrated their innovative businesses, delivering pitches that highlighted the structure, purpose and mission driving their ventures. Each presentation was a window into the transformative potential so integral to our sector, with a variety of challenges being tackled with groundbreaking solutions. TechBio Boost programme was delivered in partnership with KQ Labs and with support from London & Partners’ Grow London Early Stage programme.
What stood out most was the sheer depth and breadth of the problems being addressed, in conjunction with the undeniable passion and commitment radiating from each founder. The atmosphere in the room was palpable, as attendees couldn’t help but feel they were witnessing the vanguard of technological progress unfold in real time. From revolutionary cutting-edge applications of genomics to efforts to minimise the adverse side effects of medications, the Demo Day embodied the essence of what makes TechBio such an exciting and dynamic field. We’re incredibly proud of these entrepreneurs and look forward to seeing the impact their innovations will undoubtedly make in the years ahead.
End-of-year announcements
Ahead of the turn of the year, a few notable announcements caught my eye. First, it was great to see BIA members Relation and GSK completing a techbio deal with two strategic collaborations focused on fibrosis and osteoarthritis.
Secondly, two new centres for gene therapy have been announced by the MRC. They will bring together the best researchers throughout the country to tackle heart disease, neurodegenerative conditions like Huntington’s disease, the genetic causes of blindness and many rare genetic diseases that affect children. The centres will take different approaches to translating the advances in genomics into therapies to treat disease. One centre, called the MRC/BHF CoRE in Advanced Cardiac Therapies, will be co-funded with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and will focus on developing gene therapies for heart disease. The other centre, called the MRC CoRE in Therapeutic Genomics, aims to make rare genetic disorders treatable by enabling the mass production of affordable cutting-edge gene therapies.
The third significant announcement was the news in Nature that the SARS-CoV-2 human challenge trials at hVIVO have revealed single-gene blood transcriptional biomarkers that discriminate early and late phases of acute respiratory viral infections. This for me shows the ongoing value of work commissioned by the UK Vaccine Taskforce in the private sector, which could have utility for future pandemics. An early-stage marker detectable before PCR testing could help assess a patient’s infectiousness early in the infection timeline, with significant implications for public health guidance and stratifying patients for antiviral therapies.
Two Christmas webinars
If you weren’t able to catch it live, the recording of our webinar on JPM and Global Biotech Conferences 2025 is now available.
The update on VPAG from the ABPI that was scheduled for Friday has been moved to tomorrow, 17 Tuesday at 2 pm because the DHSC has confirmed the latest VPAG sales and 2025 payment data will be published Monday 16 December. Sign up or forward to any colleagues who might be interested in attending to understand more about what the data publication means. ABPI experts will be on hand to answer any questions.
Thank you to our members
As we close out 2024, I want to express my heartfelt thanks for your continued membership and support of the BioIndustry Association. This year, we have championed the life sciences sector through a General Election year, addressing challenges such as pricing pressures, evolving regulation, and the growing skills gap. We successfully ensured that life sciences were recognised by the incoming government as one of the UK’s highest growth potential sectors, as reflected in its new Industrial Strategy. This recognition followed Labour’s launch of its pre-election 'Prescription for Growth' policy during a visit to BIA members at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst in February.
We are proud that the Association’s hard work has been recognised with several awards this year. Please take a moment to review our Year in Numbers and blog for a detailed overview of our shared achievements in 2024.
On behalf of the entire BIA team, thank you for your continued engagement. Wishing you a joyful festive season, and we look forward to championing the sector and supporting your success in 2025.
Newscast will return on Monday, 6 January 2025.
