Government Supports Booming Regenerative Medicine

Although regenerative medicine is still a niche sector, the government said the potential economic impact for nurturing it is important. Businesses in the field of regenerative medicine are being established in the UK at such a rate that it has become one of the fastest growing biopharmaceutical sectors.

The government has vowed to try to create an integrated environment to support a world-leading regenerative medicine industry within the UK. It is committed to supporting the development of safe and effective new therapies, an environment that supports the provision of these therapies within the healthcare system and an Industrial Strategy that promotes the growth of the life sciences sector. It says the benefits that these therapies have long promised are now much closer to being realised with potentially transformative therapies in late-stage clinical trials.

An innovative feature of the support for the regenerative medicine sector has been the creation of the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGTC). The CGTC shows Innovate UK’s strategy to support the translation of innovative ideas into commercial products. CGTC will see a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) manufacturing centre due to open shortly in Stevenage. The centre will allow the manufacture of products for clinical trials and early commercial launch. It will also foster collaborative activity leading to new systems, skills and productivity with the aim of significantly increasing the UK manufacturing capacity and removing a bottleneck in development.

The government has also backed other related activities including the 100,000 Genomes Project with the ambition for the UK to continue as a world-leader in the field. There are currently 13 Genomic Medicines Centres (GMCs) in England.

If you would like to discuss these issues, please contact Paul Gershlick in our Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences team on 01923 919 320.