New recommendations from Imperial College London aim to boost competitiveness in the UK’s biopharma and Medtech sectors. It assesses the value-added per capita in these sectors and provides insights into their needs, challenges, and opportunities. Technological solutions and policy recommendations are identified as crucial for increasing innovation and value-added. It emphasizes the need for collaboration between industry, academia, and the government.
Findings from Imperial College London highlight a slowdown in the UK’s economic growth rate due to declining innovation and competitiveness in key sectors. Sector-based policies are seen as a solution to address the country’s productivity problem, requiring targeted support in research and development, skills, and finance.
Common themes for increasing competitiveness include creating innovative regulatory environments aligned with key markets, anticipating digital technology advancements, and raising innovation productivity through targeted policies and new business models.
The UK’s biopharma sector faces concerns about global competitiveness despite its significant contribution to the economy. The dominance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and challenges in clinical trials, regulatory divergence, and slower access to medicines are highlighted.
In the Medtech sector, promising growth is observed, but uncertainties surrounding post-Brexit medical device regulation pose challenges. Recommendations include improving the regulatory environment, increasing sector-specific funding, offering regulatory training, and enhancing technology transfer policies.
To compete globally, the UK needs targeted policies and support for accelerated growth in these sectors. An integrated national life sciences R&D ecosystem is identified as a government objective to support drug discovery, clinical development, and healthcare integration, reducing development cycles and costs, and attracting investments.
