Why Yorkshire's life science firms are among the world's best - Beckie Hart

People who would rarely give news from the sector a second glance have been gripped by updates on PPE shortages, ventilator manufacture and the race for a vaccine.

This surge in attention has helped the nation realise what the sector’s experts knew already: life-sciences in the UK are among the very best in the world, and remarkable things can be achieved on these shores, even when work is carried out at speed and under withering pressure.

The proof has been there for all to see, and the achievements have been remarkable even amid this crisis. British scientists may have been pipped in declaring the first positive vaccine results, but trials in Oxford may yet deliver an alternative that is cheaper and logistically advantageous.

Nightingale Hospitals were assembled in days, including the one in Harrogate, to support the NHS.

But our life-sciences sector has not just sprung to life in response to Covid-19. The sector has long been at the heart of economic and social prosperity in the UK. Nearly a quarter of a million people work in a sector which is vital in driving innovation, and which contributes more than £70bn a year to the economy.

A new CBI report – published last week, and entitled Let’s Get Clinical – makes a series of recommendations on how to build on the UK’s status as a global life-sciences hub, as well as driving improved patient outcomes and raising standards of care.

They include a call for increased Government backing of and collaboration with the sector, new bodies to support innovation and drive investment, and greater focus on STEM training to ensure the sector has a talent pipeline.

Further recommendations include a tax system which rewards research spending, accelerated digital transformation and responsible data-sharing in the NHS, and rapid availability of new medicines and treatments.

By strengthening the UK’s innovation ecosystem, ensuring government backing for the sector and enhancing tax competitiveness we can lay the foundations for a world-class offer that is not only competitive today, but offers jobs, growth and opportunities long into the future.

Aligning the country’s skills system to the sector’s needs will ensure a stream of talent to help the sector grow and thrive.

In short, these recommendations would lay the foundations for UK life-sciences to flourish – which in turn, would lead to vastly-improved patient outcomes through improved standards of care and access to the world’s most cutting-edge medicines and treatments.

But the time to act is now. The life sciences sector may already be established as a major asset for the UK economy and society, but that doesn’t mean we can rest on our laurels. The race for investment and talent is fierce.

Other countries are desperate to usurp the UK’s leading position, so we must act if we are to put clear distance between us and the competition.

By Beckie Hart - Regional Director, Yorkshire and the Humber, CBI

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