Articles

In the recent Life Sciences Sector Plan, one of the promises to make the UK the third best place in the world for life sciences was to streamline regulation and market access.

The UK has taken a massive step forward in the holy grail of personalised medicine by introducing new regulations that enable treatments to be prepared and delivered directly at the point of care.

In May, the government published its response to the Intellectual Property Office's (UK IPO) consultation on the UK's future exhaustion regime for intellectual property rights (IPR). The government has announced that the current UK+ exhaustion regime will continue in place.

The Government has published its new 10-year Industrial Strategy. It was developed in collaboration with businesses and aims to make the UK the best place in the world to invest, generate growth, and create jobs across all regions. Eight growth sectors (the IS-8) are the focus, including life sciences, digital/AI, and advanced manufacturing. Others are clean energy, defence, finance, professional and business services, and creative industries.

Operating within the UK pharmaceutical sector offers immense opportunities for innovation and public health impact. However, it also presents significant financial and regulatory challenges.

Was Brexit good for the UK? It depends on your perspective. For UK life sciences businesses, the “B” word still provides strong opinions. Some people have accepted the decision even if they think it was a mistake. Others think that Brexit provided a good opportunity for the sector, but the UK could have done more to benefit from the opportunities or “Brexit freedoms”. The debate rumbles on.