The BioIndustry Association’s ten-year vision calls for domestic capital to support the sector.
The BioIndustry Association (BIA) has published its ten-year vision for the UK life science sector calling for the need for domestic capital to support the sector.
“If UK financial institutions are not prepared to back UK innovation and growth, the chances of UK companies growing to their full potential will be forever limited by the lack of ambition and vision of some in the City of London who are happy to invest UK taxpayers’ pensions in a supine and passive way that underperforms actively managed platforms here and around the world,” said chief executive Steve Bates.
“If the City of London is not prepared to match the ambition of innovators and the UK government in backing the UK to go for growth, it is time to mandate tax-supported investment vehicles (which UK pension funds are) to back British success like our life science sector,” he continued.
Four goals
The BIA’s document sets out four key goals that the ecosystem must achieve.
First and foremost, late-stage capital has to be unlocked. This includes UK pension funds, which the BIA is calling to be mandated to invest in the sector.
Second, home-grown talent has to be developed through greater sector awareness and more tailored educational programs, and by attracting overseas experts to the UK.
Then, existing UK strengths must be further promoted, such as health data, dynamic tech and biotech start-up hubs, regulatory and legal expertise, and specialist manufacturing.
Finally, greater collaboration must be fostered among stakeholders at home and abroad.
“The UK is a global life sciences leader. Yet unlocking UK biotech’s full potential requires a shift in mindset. A lack of commercial ambition, plus lingering suspicion within academia and the National Health Service (NHS) of industry’s profit motive, have contributed to others reaping much of the economic reward from our country’s extraordinary innovations,” said Bates.
