UK government ignores biotech pleas for cash
pharmafile | May 27, 2009 | News story | Research and Development |Â Â biotechÂ
The UK biotech sector says the government's failure to provide urgently needed financial assistance is jeopardising its future.
Industry body the BIA says the government has shown its willingness to tackle long-term issues through policy, but says it really needs cash funding to help it survive the financial crisis.
Chairman Clive Dix said: "Overall we do not feel that the Governments responses have gone far enough, and are particularly disappointed that the issue of access to finance has not been addressed at this critical time."
The BIA has continuously made urgent calls for financial support in order to help maintain the UKs competitive edge globally, and help it through unprecedented financing challenges.
It was a key industry partner in the Review and Refresh of Bioscience 2015 - a report published in January 2009 to give focus and emphasis to the UKs world-class bioscience sector – led by Sir David Cooksey.
The report highlighted major challenges faced by biotech with many recommendations for the future, but in response the government has failed to respond to pleas for action around funding.
Disappointment
The BIA said its recommendations relating to finance, such as the establishment of an innovation fund, changes to R&D tax credits, and the consideration of incentives to encourage pharmaceutical company investment in biotechnology companies, have been overlooked or rejected.
It described this as extremely disappointing and gravely concerning at a time of unprecedented financing challenges for bioscience companies.
The government has created a £750m high tech innovation fund, proposed in the 2009 Budget to carry a range of struggling industries through the recession.
But the fund, dubbed the Strategic Investment Fund is yet to be fully allocated, and the biotech sector will have to fight for its share of money.
The BIA said it needed urgent clarification as to how the £750 million Strategic Investment Fund, whose advent we welcomed, will be deployed.
Aisling Burnand, its chief executive, said: "This lack of clarity and opaqueness is not what our industry needs," as she had hoped the sector would have some money to be operational by the autumn.
The industry has put further pressure on business secretary Lord Mandelson about the importance of bioscience in the UKs future.
The BIA said: "Without Government support in this area, the Governments own vision for the medical biotechnology industry… to play a key role in driving our economy in the future is not achievable."
Some positives
Some aspects of the government response were positive. The BIA welcomed the support around issues of regulation, such as taking leadership on the EU Clinical Trials Directive, and making stratified diseases an important area of activity.
The promise in the Budget to review taxes relating to innovation is another initiative that could benefit the sector in the future, along with the recognition of the importance of regenerative medicine.
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