UK breathes life sciences into government

Now that the US government has said that it is OK to conduct research with stem cells, we can expect growing global competition in the area. This might have been a factor behind last week’s announcement from the UK government of the details of the Office for Life Sciences (OLS), first announced by the Prime Minister at an industry summit in January. After all, stem cells are this year’s hot topic in the life sciences.

The press release with details of the OLS, from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), tells us that “by the end of July 2009″ the new outfit should take action “to make a real difference to the operating environment for life sciences companies by working across Government to address a range of key issues”. The new “virtual Office,” as DIUS describes it, has staff seconded from the Department of Health, the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform and the Treasury.

“Working with Departments responsible for these areas, the virtual Office will,” says the announcement, “co-ordinate national policy, undertaking work to build a sustainable and integrated life sciences industry in the future. It will look at what steps can be taken to improve access to finance for SMEs and to stimulate investment in the life sciences industry.”

The jumping off point for the new initiative was the report The Review and Refresh of Bioscience 2015. Among the four areas that this report highlighted, “finance, regulation, new ideas, and human capital and resources,” funding for companies is probably the most pressing. The Science|Business report of the recent BioIndustry Association (BIA) survey of 295 companies shows just how dire the postion is in the UK.

The new office will also have to look at a perennial issue for research in the life sciences in the UK. What can the government do to turn the National Health Service (NHS), which purports to be one of the world’s best health care sectors, and one of the UK’s country’s largest consumers of research, into something that supports rather than hinders innovation.

The innovation minister, Lord Drayson, makes all the right noises. “This new Office represents the government’s commitment to safeguarding the future of our life sciences industry, creating an environment where everyone from large pharmaceuticals to small biotech and medical tech companies can prosper. The skills, expertise and intellectual property these businesses possess are extremely valuable to the future of this country.”

Somehow, though, the NHS usually manages to shrug off attempts to turn it into an enthusiastic promulgator of innovation. Small businesses can find it an especially hard market to break into.

Richard Barker, Director General of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, makes the point in his quotes for the press release. “The Government needs to protect and build the UK’s scientific talent base and do all it can to encourage the NHS to be a champion of innovation by speeding up access to new medicines and boosting clinical trials.”