Influencing and shaping our sector | BIA update: October 2020 - January 2021

The BioIndustry Association (BIA)’s ongoing engagement enables our members’ voices to be heard at the highest levels. This quarterly update gives an overview of key policy developments and the BIA’s continued engagement with policymakers, regulatory authorities and wider stakeholders on behalf of the UK life sciences sector, from October 2020 to January 2021.

Towards the end 2020, the BIA celebrated the news that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine had received approval for emergency use in the UK by the MHRA. On the same day as vaccinations were rolled out across the UK, we held our annual MHRA-BIA bilateral meeting and hosted an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Life Sciences briefing for MPs together with the ABPI and BIVDA on the life sciences industry’s response to COVID-19. The last-minute Brexit deal, agreed on Christmas Eve, represented a culmination of many years of influencing work by the BIA and our industry partners. We promptly published an analysis of the deal’s implication for life sciences and we are continuing to work with the Government to foster an environment that supports our sector.

We have also worked to influence the Government’s priorities for the Spending Review by highlighting the importance of the Biomedical Catalyst and the availability of scale-up capital. As the Government seeks to increase its powers to scrutinise and intervene in investment deals through the National Security and Investment Bill, we are engaging with officials to minimise the negative impact of the Bill on our sector. We also responded to the long-awaited NICE Methods Review consultation, which will frame the medicines access landscape for many years in the future. Read about this and much more in the report.