£146m drive to put UK at heart of life sciences
AMASSIVE £146 million investment to make the UK a world leader in life sciences was announced when two top government ministers visited the University of Birmingham.
Business Secretary Greg Clark and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced the funding at the Institute of Translational Medicine, at the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham campus.
They joined Professor Sir John Bell, one of the world’s leading immunologists and geneticists, who launched the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy.
Birmingham is at the forefront of plans as it develops a world class life sciences quarter around the Edgabston campus.
At the launch, Mr Hunt and Mr Clark announced:
A £13 million competition to establish a new Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre to speed up the adoption of new manufacturing technologies;
£66 million for a Vaccines Development and Manufacturing Centre to develop and manufacture vaccines for clinical trials and prepare for emergency epidemic threats;
£30 million for an Advanced Therapies Treatment Centre to establish a network of centres, based in hospitals, that will improve the UK’s ability to develop and deliver cell and gene therapies;
£25 million to help smaller manufacturing businesses;
£14 million funding to support 11 medical technology research centres, including one in Birmingham, to encourage collaboration between the NHS and industry in developing new technologies for patients.
Mr Clark said: “The life sciences sector is of critical importance to the UK economy and UK health – with more than 5,000 companies, nearly 235,000 employees and a turnover of £64 billion in 2016 – and the Government is committed to continuing to help this sector go from strength to strength.
“The Life Sciences Industrial Strategy demonstrates the world-class expertise the UK already has in this sector and represents the industry’s vision for how we can build on our world-leading reputation in this field. We will be engaging with Sir John Bell in the coming months in an effort to work towards a Sector Deal that helps us seize the opportunities in this area.”
The University of Birmingham’s head of the college of medical and dental sciences, Professor David Adams, welcomed the move, saying: “This is an exciting time to be working in life sciences and it is a great pleasure to welcome Greg Clark and Jeremy Hunt here.
“In Birmingham we are proud of our innovative work, created in exciting partnerships between academia, the NHS and industry. I am delighted to hear their announcements today, and look forward to seeing them come to fruition.”
Sir John said the UK was “uniquely placed” to take advantage of growth in life sciences because of the NHS.
Setting out his findings, he said collaboration between industry and the NHS would allow the UK to capitalise on its strong science base, including academic research, to establish a global lead.