ABPI

UK trade associations form new life sciences lobbying group

pharmafile | January 11, 2011 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing ABHI, ABPI, BIA, BIVDA, LifeSciencesUK, lobbying 

Four industry trade associations including pharma body the ABPI have banded together to form a new lobbying group representing life sciences.

LifeSciencesUK has been launched to improve joint working between pharma, biotech, medical devices and diagnostics companies in a bid to capitalise on the government’s encouraging noises about the sector.

Its main aims will be to promote the UK as an international destination for investment while talking up the importance of life sciences to the UK economy.

It comes off the back of chancellor George Osborne’s proposals to stimulate the commercialisation of discoveries in last November’s government review.

That document outlined plans for the introduction of a preferential tax regime of 10% for profits arising from patents – the so-called “patent box” – as well as a look at R&D tax credits to reflect the proposals of the Dyson review.

“Global competition in life sciences is mounting, so we need to ensure the UK’s comparative advantage remains high,” says ABPI director general Richard Barker.

“By working together, our united force will strive to ensure patients have access to the new medicines and technologies they need,” he added. “We want the UK to be the number one destination for international life sciences investment.”

Closer working with the Departments of Health and Business, Innovation and Skills is also on the agenda, along with more involvement with academia, patient groups and the media.

Health minister Lord Howe and minister for universities and science David Willetts welcomed the move.

“This exciting initiative will allow the industries to work closely in helping the NHS provide quality care and improve productivity with new technologies,” said Lord Howe.

“I am looking forward to LifeSciencesUK working closely with Chris Brinsmead, the government’s life sciences business adviser, to support Lord Howe and myself so the industry can realise the UK’s potential in this area,” added Willetts.

Joining the ABPI, LifeSciencesUK’s other members are the Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI), the BioIndustry Association (BIA) and the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA).

The four have already worked with the Office for Life Sciences and made a joint submission to the government’s growth review,

The government’s own figures show that the pharma and biotech sectors were the biggest contributor to R&D in 2009, taking 35% of all R&D investment in the 1,000 top-performing companies in the UK.

Adam Hill

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