Transforming the UK into a life sciences superpower
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock spoke at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) annual conference.
Thank you Richard, and I appreciate the opportunity to have this discussion. I바카라 사이트檝e just got back from the Science Museum, where I바카라 사이트檝e had my first jab.
And the Queen was right 바카라 사이트� it doesn바카라 사이트檛 hurt a bit.
I had Professor Van-Tam vaccinating me, which was a real honour. For me, having that in the Science Museum just underlined the significance of science and the life sciences. And having it from JVT, who has obviously played such an important role in this vaccine effort, it has been wonderful. And it really crystallised for me the job the life sciences have done over this past year, and, you know, how as an industry we moved with such extraordinary speed and helped to build the defences, in what effectively has been a race against time to save lives, that race is still on.
We바카라 사이트檝e seen some incredible results.
One year ago, the number of people we could test for COVID in a day stood in 5 figures. Last month, we tested nearly 2 million people in a single day. That is because of advances in the diagnostics industry.
Of course, back then we didn바카라 사이트檛 have treatments for COVID, so we found them 바카라 사이트� including for instance dexamethasone. And now of course we바카라 사이트檙e looking for more. And the estimate is the dexamethasone, the discovery of dexamethasone, has an impact on mortality, it has saved up to a million lives globally.
Before the pandemic, of course, we didn바카라 사이트檛 make many vaccines in this country. Now we바카라 사이트檙e manufacturing millions.
And we바카라 사이트檝e achieved in months what usually takes years.
Some of it we may never have achieved had it not been for the extraordinary circumstances that we바카라 사이트檝e faced.
And from what we started with, what we had at the start of this, a combination of elite research institutions, innovative regulation, pro-innovation regulation, and of course NHS and the NHS data, which has been such a powerful package. And one of the things I wanted to talk about today.
It바카라 사이트檚 a real tribute to our life sciences sector, I think, and to members of the ABPI, and it바카라 사이트檚 a clear signal of what we can do, if we work together.
I am incredibly proud to join the 34 million people who have had the jab now, and we바카라 사이트檙e getting more data that shows our vaccines are really reducing people바카라 사이트檚 chances of catching COVID, and we바카라 사이트檙e constantly finding out even more about the layers of protection that the vaccines are giving us.
But despite this good news, we still face some real challenges right now. Around the world, there were more cases of COVID last week than any other week.
But vaccines are not the only hope in this fight 바카라 사이트� we can also now see how important antivirals can be. And I just want to put antivirals on the agenda to this group, and this audience, because I think that they are very, very important for the future of how we handle this pandemic.
First, they can treat people early, to stop mild disease becoming more serious.
And secondly, as a prophylactic 바카라 사이트� as a precautionary measure 바카라 사이트� in settings where someone바카라 사이트檚 tested positive.
So we바카라 사이트檙e absolutely determined to do more and learn from what we바카라 사이트檝e achieved in the last year and a half on vaccines. With antivirals are the next frontier.
We바카라 사이트檝e just launched our antivirals taskforce 바카라 사이트� to do this year with antivirals what we did last year with vaccines.
And the mission of that taskforce is to search for the most promising new drugs and speed up their development and manufacture here in the UK and have them ready for deployment this year.
And we need to get to a world where we take our tests at home, and if you test positive, you take your antivirals at home.
That is the next national mission 바카라 사이트� and I바카라 사이트檓 looking forward to working with a great many of you on it.
We바카라 사이트檝e learned a huge amount this last year 바카라 사이트� and we바카라 사이트檝e learned a lot about how to make things happen. It바카라 사이트檚 one of the things I want to address today. How we바카라 사이트檝e managed to accelerate things, that often happens in a crisis, but crucially, we바카라 사이트檝e got to hold on to those things and translate the lessons we바카라 사이트檝e learned, especially from the things that have gone well 바카라 사이트� the discovery of dexamethasone, our vaccines project.
I name those 2 as the top 2 in this space, but there are many more. And we need to use these lessons, right across the board, not just in response to COVID, but more broadly too.
And I just think it바카라 사이트檚 worth us all dwelling for a moment on the fact that the public has never been more engaged in health research 바카라 사이트� never has the public been more engaged about health research 바카라 사이트� so let바카라 사이트檚 harness this enthusiasm.
Tackling COVID has been a global mission 바카라 사이트� but there are so many other noble missions that still lie ahead. I am sure you can think of those that you are most focused on.
Tackling cancer. Treatments for dementia. Preventing heart disease. So much more.
Now, over the last year, the NIHR and their 바카라 사이트榬estart framework바카라 사이트� has helped support the recruitment of nearly a quarter of a million participants to non-urgent public health studies.
And although it바카라 사이트檚 heartening that three quarters of commercial trials that had been paused have now re-opened, we바카라 사이트檝e got to go further to recover non-COVID research.
And the NIHR바카라 사이트檚 Clinical Research Network is providing targeted support for the recovery of studies that they 바카라 사이트� together with you 바카라 사이트� have identified as both vital and urgent. And I바카라 사이트檓 very grateful to ABPI and your membership for your instrumental role in this approach.
And just looking ahead, that approach has got to be about more than just recovery.
I think it바카라 사이트檚 very moving to hear the words of Stephen Hawking, he said that the true meaning of 바카라 사이트渋ntelligence is the ability to adapt to change바카라 사이트�.
So it바카라 사이트檚 no longer about getting us back to where we were 바카라 사이트� it바카라 사이트檚 about charting a new and better course, where we learn the lessons of the pandemic, and build back better, to transform the UK into a life sciences superpower. That is what we can do. I know it바카라 사이트檚 an ambition you all share.
Under the banner of the 2017 life sciences strategy, which feels an age ago now, we바카라 사이트檝e achieved a great deal together.
We have got some great things to build on.
The best life sciences though, just as you were saying, come from the collaboration of the holy trinity: of government, academia and industry.
There are things that we must do, and by government I mean in the broadest sense, including the NHS, here are things that you must do. And we must do these things together.
Today, I want to address 3 things of each 바카라 사이트� 3 things that we need to do, 3 things that you need to do, and then drill down into them.
But really, in all cases, we need to do them together.
First, on our side of the fence.
How do we turn these ambitions into actions?
The first thing I want to touch on is regulation and trial design. We have to take a hard look at our rules and regulations.
They are of course the cornerstone of sector, practice, and getting new products into use with patients, but left unchecked, regulations can outgrow their original purpose and stifle innovation.
Now, one of the quiet but very significant success stories of the pandemic has been the MHRA, and that바카라 사이트檚 because they have taken a culture and approach of focusing on safety, not bureaucracy, not simply taking step A then step B, then step C, because those are the steps that they바카라 사이트檝e always taken, but running steps, A, B and C and D and E for that matter, concurrently at the same time.
The result of this has been really clear for the whole world to see, because we were the first in the world to license a safe and effective clinically authorised vaccine, and we were quick out of the starting blocks with the recovery trial that identified dexamethasone and other treatments.
And in my view, the MHRA has proved themselves to be one of the finest medical regulators in the world.
But we can바카라 사이트檛 rest on our laurels, even during the pandemic, we legislated for the medicines and medical devices Bill, something we바카라 사이트檙e able to do now outside the EU, and that will allow us to build a regulatory system over time, that is one of the most effective in the world.
That바카라 사이트檚 one of the most ready innovations in data and AI, advanced therapies, and technologies that don바카라 사이트檛 yet exist and none of us have yet dreamed of.
And it바카라 사이트檚 at the heart of the bold vision we published last month for the future of UK clinical research delivery.
The goal here is a country and a sector that바카라 사이트檚 ready to embrace the breakthrough technologies that can help us tackle some of the most pressing Population Health burdens in the future, and save and improve people바카라 사이트檚 lives.
And for me, thinking about the purpose of this. The clue is in the name, life sciences are about saving and improving lives.
An important part of that is to have trial designs that are not only, innovative, but interoperable across borders, too.
And throughout the pandemic, we바카라 사이트檝e been stung, when clinical trials aren바카라 사이트檛 designed with set standards from the start, meaning that it takes longer to translate the data, and longer to get the results that we have so desperately needed, changing that is something that I바카라 사이트檝e put at the heart of our G7 presidency, because getting it right means that we바카라 사이트檒l be able to get treatments out faster, and save more lives.
And we바카라 사이트檝e seen that for instance, on the link to the NHS through the accelerated access collaborative and through the some of the landmark commercial deals signed between the NHS and industry, like the deal signed with Novartis for Inclisiran, for instance which is incredibly impressive dynamic deal, and we바카라 사이트檙e becoming faster and better at getting new treatments and technologies into the hands of patients or clinicians in the NHS who need them.
I just want to pause at this point, in particular to address a critical point that we all need to think about. Because when it comes to clinical trials, I also want us to think about women바카라 사이트檚 health.
We recently launched the first ever Women바카라 사이트檚 Health Strategy 바카라 사이트� which aims to put an end to the 바카라 사이트榤ale by default바카라 사이트� culture, which I think has been around for far too long. And unbelievably still exists in some parts of what we do.
Doing this involves changing how we spend our money, where our research goes and which conditions we put the most focus into.
It means explicitly designing any clinical trial to be equal amongst men and women.
I find it astonishing that it still doesn바카라 사이트檛 always happen today.
We need to listen to women바카라 사이트檚 voices 바카라 사이트� and act on what we hear, so the life sciences are there for everyone.
So that바카라 사이트檚 the first thing, research and clinical research and regulation, how it;s regulated, making sure that it is dynamic, modern, fit for purpose, where we have a big role to keep constantly making sure that we regulate for science and safety, and not for bureaucracy.
The second thing I바카라 사이트檓 determined to get right is investment.
So, despite the strong pipeline of SMEs spinning out of some of our world class science base here in the UK, it is still hard to access the late-stage capital these companies need to grow and turn into world-beaters.
This is something our Life Sciences Investment Programme is intended to change, working again in partnership with you, with sovereign investors, and with the private sector, to deepen our investment ecosystem and support homegrown companies and homegrown talent.
This is really incredibly important to me. It바카라 사이트檚 noticeable, for instance, going back to the vaccines programme, that many of the vaccines that are successful, were developed outside of the big pharma companies, and then partnered with the big, more established companies, in order to get to manufacturing scale and deployment capability. Really, really noticeable.
And we바카라 사이트檙e already attracting some serious interest, including an 800 million investment from the Mubadala Investment Company, and I바카라 사이트檓 confident that there바카라 사이트檒l be many more.
I바카라 사이트檓 excited about what British life sciences companies can achieve, but we바카라 사이트檝e got to lean in to unlock these new pools of growth capital and there바카라 사이트檚 a lot more to do on that front.
The third thing is incredibly important to touch on, is skills.
Clearly the greatest investment we can make is in people, we바카라 사이트檝e got to drive up more children taking up STEM subjects, that drive is working.
And we바카라 사이트檝e seen an unprecedented growth in the number of students going for subjects like computer science, engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, we바카라 사이트檝e seen a 400% increase in students wanting to study AI at university.
We바카라 사이트檙e getting ahead of this, we have a life sciences 2030 skills strategy, and am absolutely determined that we stay ahead on this, we must maintain this focus on skill shortages where we see them.
And again, keep working together to find solutions, whether that바카라 사이트檚 the uptake of apprenticeships in life sciences, or at the university of postgraduate level.
This is the level of foresight and planning that we need, because you don바카라 사이트檛 become a superpower in life sciences by accident, and you can바카라 사이트檛 do it without the people who are the absolute bedrock of getting this right.
So, these are the areas that were working in partnership, where we바카라 사이트檙e taking the lead on regulations on investment, on skills.
But there are also the areas where industry can lead, and I just want to focus on 3 of these.
And I think, I think these are incredibly important. Again we바카라 사이트檝e got to work in partnership and together, but I just want to touch on three.
First, manufacturing, and the location of manufacturing.
We do some fantastic things here in the UK, we make surgical robots in Cambridge and hip replacements in Leeds and cancer medicines in Macclesfield.
But there바카라 사이트檚 no question that when it comes to things like manufacturing medicines and vaccines on a commercial scale, we have fallen behind.
Far too many British breakthroughs are then being manufactured elsewhere and imported back for UK patients.
There was a dominant idea in government, that it didn바카라 사이트檛 matter where manufacturing took place, but I believe that is wrong, manufacturing, medicines and medical devices, bring jobs.
And crucially, bring the whole process closer to patients and closer to research.
So we바카라 사이트檙e changing that old way of thinking, COVID-19 has revealed how much our resilience to future emergencies really depends on our homegrown manufacturing capability.
You know, we바카라 사이트檝e now got 바카라 사이트渇ill and finish바카라 사이트� for the Oxford jab in Wrexham, we바카라 사이트檝e got the vaccines being made on Teesside and in Livingston.
There바카라 사이트檚 much more to come on this agenda, much, much more to come.
We prove that we can build a manufacturing base in areas that we didn바카라 사이트檛 have, and we proved, we can do it quickly we바카라 사이트檝e done this on vaccines, we바카라 사이트檙e doing it in diagnostics, we바카라 사이트檝e committed 300 million to secure and scale up manufacturing capabilities here at home, including longer-term bets on some of the state of the art technology, we바카라 사이트檙e building our Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Innovation Centre in Stevenage 바카라 사이트� which helps bring innovation, innovative cell and gene therapies to market.
We바카라 사이트檝e got our vaccines manufacturing and innovation centre in Oxfordshire on the way.
And when these are complete, they바카라 사이트檒l have the capacity to produce vaccines, on a scale for the entire UK population and to be able to export to other parts of the world, we바카라 사이트檙e just getting started on this, we are changing the attitude, we바카라 사이트檙e changing the approach, and we are leaning in.
And the way to think about it is this.
The UK is big enough, and has the capability enough, to be globally leading, but we바카라 사이트檙e also small enough to be joined up in a really good ecosystem.
And we need to take a global approach here, there are some areas of the world where they consider the domestic market is big enough 바카라 사이트� that isn바카라 사이트檛 true.
The NHS is a big buyer, one of the biggest, if not the biggest in the world. But we know that we need to take a global approach.
And for me, I think that makes the perfect combination for investment in the life sciences.
And my message to would-be investors in UK life sciences is this.
Nowhere in the world, will you find a government that is more committed to you, and nowhere will you find a government more committed to free trade and contract law. The life sciences industry is global, by nature, it depends on a huge collaboration, internationally, on international supply chains, maybe more than any other industry.
A typical vaccine contains 200 components from 80 companies, and 60 countries, and it바카라 사이트檚 the same for many therapeutics and devices.
In Britain, we celebrate that huge collaboration that stands behind the success of all life sciences sector. We cherish the values of openness of scientific progress that that represents.
So yes, of course, I recognise the huge pressure on trade and on supply chains in times of emergency, and I recognise some of the political pressures, of course I do.
But we know, and I believe fundamentally that the best way to protect all our supply chains is not protectionism, it바카라 사이트檚 openness, we must keep that huge collaboration going, keep goods and services flowing.
So I want to make crystal clear, Britain바카라 사이트檚 unshakeable commitment to free trade and contract law, a covenant on life sciences, if you like, that gives those who want to invest and build their businesses in the UK, the assurance they need that you can export the medicines, made here to your destination market.
We want to match this commitment with powerful incentives, we바카라 사이트檝e established the new Medicines and Diagnostics Manufacturing Transformation Fund as a model for how we can do this, offering capital grants to encourage manufacturing, including large-scale manufacturing, and my mission, our mission, not just to build back the manufacturing, but to build back better.
Now I바카라 사이트檓 asking our Life Sciences Council to lead on this important work. And I want us to make sure our offer is so good, that it would be an impossible choice, not to invest and locate in the UK.
So that바카라 사이트檚 the first thing.
And I think this culture of working together, and openness, so that when you produce here, of course we바카라 사이트檒l buy if it바카라 사이트檚 good, but you can export to anywhere in the world.
This is a great moment to be taking this approach, because I think the life sciences are more visible and more valued than ever before by the public, and at the same moment, the technology is more powerful than ever before.
So that brings me to the penultimate point I want to make. I want to focus on just one technology, which is incredibly important, where we need to drive things forward.
And you need to take a lead. Fast and cheap sequencing is turning healthcare on its head.
Let me tell you about a little girl called Jessica.
She had trouble walking, she suffered epileptic fits, her parents did everything they could to find out what was wrong, going from consultant to consultant from scan to scan.
Jessica was just 4 years old, and they couldn바카라 사이트檛 find out what was wrong.
Now not only was this hugely costly to the NHS, but it was distressing for everyone involved.
But when Jessica signed up to the 100,000 Genomes Project, all that changed. One sequence later, they found she had Glut One Deficiency Syndrome.
It put an end to her diagnostic odyssey, it put her on the path to tailored treatment.
In these cases of rare diseases, a typical diagnostic odyssey takes 4 to 7 years.
But genomics is not just for tackling this huge problem in rare diseases.
We바카라 사이트檙e making genomic sequencing a routine part of everyday diagnosis and treatment, and the UK again is uniquely placed.
The NHS has the scale and the systems to make it happen.
Turning tests around more quickly, prescribing precision medicine, giving doctors the tools to make better clinical decisions.
So we바카라 사이트檒l be backing genomics to the hilt.
From our side, we need you.
First, I바카라 사이트檝e asked the Medical Research Council to develop a proposal for a UK Functional Genomics Initiative, through this initiative we want to make the UK a world leader in new approaches to understanding how genetic changes cause disease, and through that, the validation of drugs targets, later this year we바카라 사이트檒l be launching our genome UK Implementation Plan.
And I can confirm that we바카라 사이트檙e making further investments in some of Genomics England바카라 사이트檚 most cutting-edge projects, including the sequencing of newborns, in addressing the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in genomic datasets, and funding next generation approaches to cancer diagnosis.
Genomics is at the cutting edge, it바카라 사이트檚 helped save lives in this pandemic.
And we in the UK are undisputed world leaders, and we바카라 사이트檙e going to keep on leading.
바카라 사이트, industry and academia. That Holy Trinity, working together.
The very last point I want to make, is to absolutely underscore something that we all know, and has been proved yet again during this crisis, but still needs work to get the most out of 바카라 사이트� the importance of high quality integrated properly architectured data.
Across the health and care system, people are using data more fluently and more effectively than ever before.
Never more so than in clinical trials, again the recovery trial, allowed us to show what was possible.
I want us to deliver on our vision to create the most advanced and data-enabled clinical research environment in the world, where initiatives like NHS DigiTrials have shown the way forward, but there바카라 사이트檚 much, much more to do.
As well as the work internationally at the G7 level that I mentioned, today I바카라 사이트檓 proud to set out the next steps with a 20 million investment in the new data- driven Find, Recruit, and Follow-Up service for clinical trials.
The gift we have here of the NHS in this country, means the opportunity to use data to save lives better than anywhere else, but that gift, if you allow me to stretch the analogy, that gift is not yet fully unwrapped.
We have to work hard together to make best use of this gift to save lives.
I바카라 사이트檓 determined to make it quicker and easier to set up and deliver the high power clinical trials we need, more than that, the trials will be better with R&D ready data, to strengthen their power to increase diversity of participants.
And so, bring medicines to market safer and faster, from cancer to cardiovascular, to every disease known to mankind. Taken together, all this means better research, better treatment, better clinical decision making, and more lives saved, and lives improved, that is the mission of the life sciences.
So, in closing, today I want to extend my gratitude to all of you, you바카라 사이트檝e achieved some amazing things, which means that today we바카라 사이트檙e running ground-breaking clinical trials, we are treating COVID, we바카라 사이트檙e vaccinating our way out of this pandemic including me this morning.
This has all been possible because of that Holy Trinity of government, academia and industry coming together to meet the challenges that we collectively share.
But in my view, the best way for us to show that gratitude is to help you to do more, to take these steps, take them together and meet the challenges of the future.
When we do that, we won바카라 사이트檛 just recover from this pandemic, but we바카라 사이트檒l build back better. And together, working together, using the momentum that the pandemic has required, using the energy that it바카라 사이트檚 given the sector, using the enthusiasm that the British public have demonstrated for the scientific work that you바카라 사이트檝e done, and the work to translate that science into reality.
That is how we바카라 사이트檙e going to transform the UK, into a life sciences superpower, and I바카라 사이트檓 really excited about working with you to make it happen.