UK pharma industry welcomes bioscience report

A report highlighting the importance of biotechnology to UK prosperity has been welcomed by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). The report, Improving National Health, Increasing National Wealth, was produced for the Government by the Bioscience Innovation and Growth Team (BIGT) and aims to improve the competitiveness of biotechnology in the UK.

The report makes a number of recommendations to address challenges facing the biotechnology sector in the UK. The first recommendation outlines the need for efficient infrastructure for clinical trials and is in line with proposals made by the Academy of Medical Sciences in the report Strengthening Clinical Research, published in October.

The second recommendation addresses the issue of the regulatory process for UK medicines development. 'While the pharmaceutical industry believes that regulation is necessary, in recent years it has become more risk adverse, unnecessarily delaying patients' access to new medicines,' says the ABPI, which welcomes the BIGT proposals for regulatory support. 'Regulation should be there to protect patients, but it must not result in denying them life-saving treatment because of over-cautious bureaucratic demands,' said ABPI director general Dr Jones.

The report also makes three recommendations regarding the use of animals in medical research: defending the responsible use of animal testing in medical research; introducing new, specific legislation to combat animal extremism; and to support the work of the Coalition for Medical Progress (CMP). 'The issue of animal extremism continues to be central to medicines research in the UK and needs to be addressed to maintain our place as a leader in this field. To succeed, it is essential that we all work together, through the CMP and other such organisations,' said Dr Jones.

BIGT also recommends the establishment of bioprocessing centres of excellence. As the source of most of innovation and manufacturing in biotechnology, the pharmaceutical industry welcomes support from the BioIndustry Assocation (BIA) in increasing capacity for this activity. ABPI agrees with BIGT views concerning commercial funding, strengthening the bridge between the generation of ideas and commercial financing and the need to develop, attract and retain high levels of quality scientific and management talent.

'In view of the pharmaceutical industry's major role in biotechnology in the UK, the ABPI looks forward to being represented on the bioscience leadership council and working with our partners for the benefit of the sector,' Dr Jones said. 'The pharmaceutical industry, as the leading biotechnology sector in the UK, fully supports the report's ambitions to improve the UK's attractiveness as a destination for investment in this field,' said ABPI Director General Dr Trevor Jones. "This is a highly competitive arena and the UK needs to take definite steps to ensure that we remain at the forefront of international biotech research.'