The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has welcomed the government’s decision to come up with a number of measures aimed at driving growth in the U.K.’s life sciences sector.
The plan includes a research fund worth £180 million which will be open to universities and small and medium-sized enterprises.
“(The) Government’s support for our industry is a significant step to opening up the NHS to research – this will make the UK a more inviting place to locate research and, therefore, investment. Ultimately, this leads to a better service for patients,” said Stephen Whitehead, ABPI Chief Executive. “We welcome the support for the whole life science ecosystem; including the gap funding for early stage research and SMEs. As the pharmaceutical industry comes under new global pressures, the survival of the sector is reliant on this health ecosystem and this initiative should set the UK apart as a front runner.”
The development is also expected to result in new Pharmaceutical Jobs.
Highlights from the announcement include:
- The automatic inclusion of NICE recommended treatments on formulary. This means that clinicians will truly have the choice to prescribe the medicine that they think most appropriate for their patients.
- The establishment of a NICE Implementation Collaborative (NIC) to support prompt implementation of NICE guidance, bringing all partners into the process of helping with barriers to patient access.
- Development and publication of the innovation scorecard allowing a clear understanding of whether the reforms to NICE are really working.
- An emphasis on clinical trials, aiming to re-establish the UK as a thriving centre for research and exploiting the benefits of this for patients.
- Better access to health data (with appropriate protection for patient confidentiality) opens up the UK’s unique offering to provide a true picture of health challenges and benefits.
- The commitment to earlier access to medicines where appropriate, allows patients to benefit earlier from promising medicines whilst improving what we know about how these medicines work.
- Plans to simplify regulation, reducing gold plating and unnecessary bureaucracy will help industry move further and faster, and make the UK a more attractive place to locate business. The initiative of a group of experts including industry to meet regularly to discuss regulation is welcomed.
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