CEO Update - 30 September 2024
Autumn political landscape becomes clear
The shape of the political landscape that our sector will navigate this year became clear at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool last week. The new Labour government will unveil its industrial strategy, hold a Global Investment Summit and meet the Life Science Council in October before the key moment of the Budget on 30 October. Through the autumn and the winter, a ten-year plan for the NHS will be developed and a spending review for the parliament conducted.
Steve Bates OBE
CEO, BIA
It's clear from my interactions in Liverpool that life sciences is a valued and respected growth sector of the economy, repeatedly referenced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves' speech on Monday. But it is equally clear that the fiscal position is tight, savings need to be made, austerity is not the preferred option and creative routes to growth are being hinted at.
That's why our focus has been on progressing the pensions debate, unlocking new capital for UK growth ( see section below) and ensuring that the vital role R&D tax credits play for our sector is well understood. Detailed revelations about R&D tax consultancy practise in the national media today, including new HMRC investigations, match with the Chancellor’s commitment to tackle waste and fraud. It's why it is heartening to see tax campaigner Dan Neidle say:
The shame of it is that there are biotech companies struggling to claim relief for really significant R&D, whilst invalid claims have cost the country billions of pounds. We will need to keep making the case in the weeks ahead as the focus on fraud in R&D tax credits comes into ever sharper focus.
Labour Party Conference
The BIA was out in force at the Labour Party conference this year, hosting two fringe events and a networking dinner. It was clear from ministers and MPs speaking that the government is focused on delivering its five missions, with growth paramount, and many of the fringe events (including our own) supported this agenda.
The BIA hosted a panel on 'Unlocking pensions to deliver an innovative, high growth Britain', which continued the discussion on how the mobilisation of pension funds can provide the sorely needed investment boost to the life sciences, while also providing better returns for the UK saver. I was pleased to Chair the panel featuring the Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds MP, the new Labour MP for Mansfield Steve Yemm (who has experience of biotech and pharma on both sides of the Atlantic), and Kristen Albright, CEO of Prokarium, along with experts from the pensions and VC industries.
We also championed the opportunity of Deep Biotech to revolutionise every sector of the economy through our second panel. We were pleased to have Chi Onwurah MP join us, who's just been elected as the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee in the House of Commons. She recognised the UK’s huge strengths in R&D and advanced manufacturing, and CyanoCapture were just one of the experts we had that showed what is possible if we support these young companies to scale-up in the UK.
Evaluating the impact of our entrepreneur training - new report
The BIA launched PULSE (Programme for Up-and-coming Life Science Entrepreneurs) alongside the Francis Crick Institute in 2018. The free three-day program brings together 25-30 entrepreneurs and connects them with a diverse group of industry experts. Through a mix of sessions, talks, and hands-on exercises, participants explore key aspects of early-stage life science entrepreneurship, from investment strategies and intellectual property to team building and business planning. In an endeavour to quantify the impact of this highly regarded programme, we've put together a new report which tracks investment and enterprise growth from participants. It has got some great data and I'd be really interested to hear your views on it.
Celebrating member news
Among the most exciting news I have read recently is that Constructive Bio, a synthetic genomics pioneer, has secured $58 million in the first close of its Series A financing, bringing total funding to $75 million. Led by Ahren, OMX Ventures, and Paladin Capital Group, with participation from others, the funds will advance Constructive Bio's technology, which writes custom genomes and creates novel biomolecules for applications in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and more. Nobel laureate Sir Gregory Winter joins the board, supporting the company's growth. Since its 2022 launch, Constructive Bio has optimized its platforms for scalable production and is poised to revolutionize biomanufacturing.
I am pleased to see that Quell Therapeutics, a leader in engineered T-regulatory (Treg) cell therapies for immune-driven diseases, has partnered with eXmoor pharma, a full-service cell and gene therapy manufacturing partner, to scale the production of Quell's CAR-Treg cell therapy candidates. This strategic multi-year agreement supports the process transfer, scale-out, and Phase 1/2 clinical manufacture of Quell's pipeline therapies. eXmoor will provide manufacturing capacity at its newly licensed GMP facility in Bristol, UK. Both companies aim to accelerate the clinical development of Quell’s next-generation cell therapies for autoimmune diseases.
NHS consultations
Last week, the BIA responded to two NHS England consultations – one on proposed changes to the NHS Commercial Framework, and another on an increase to the Budget Impact Threshold. Both of these consultations were commitments made in the 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Pricing Access and Growth (VPAG). The changes proposed will be important in supporting patient access to innovative new medicines, and we encourage NHS England to make the most of the opportunity to increase commercial flexibilities. NHS England has engaged closely with industry on these consultations, and we look forward to continuing this engagement as the final changes are determined.
The Darzi review
Making front-page headlines across the UK for its indictment of the current state of Britain’s healthcare infrastructure, the Darzi review also made some significant comments on the life sciences. Read our blog which outlines the significance of the report.
MHRA webinar
You may well want to join an upcoming MHRA webinar that will provide an overview of the MHRA consultation on statutory fees for micro and small-medium-sized businesses. And of course don’t miss the chance to meet the MHRA team in person at our regulatory conference in November.
BIA wins two MemCom Excellence Awards for events and advocacy
The MemCom Excellence Awards took place on Thursday, an association-only award ceremony. A community for membership professionals, MemCom awards focus on the recognition and celebration of the membership sector’s greatest successes. The BIA won two awards: Our Gala dinner won the best celebration event, while our pioneering work on R&D tax credits won the best lobbying campaign. This external celebration of our work, especially in the context of the much larger organisations we were being measured against, shows what a great team we have at the BIA. Jane, Chloe and Martin did the honours at the celebration event.
