Should we be more like the French?
In the third health and life sciences election blog, we look at how attracting foreign investment could help to support the sector.
During the pandemic, the UK attracted international companies to develop vaccines and treatments that subsequently protected the world’s population. There were pharma companies competing to work with the NHS and our academic institutions. The commercial and industry expertise in the UK Vaccine Task Force meant that it worked with pharma and biotech companies as an in-licensing process resulting in faster access and better value for the UK.
In addition, what made the UK attractive to work in - beyond the commercial nous of the taskforce - was the NHS and our UK population. The UK’s diverse population and the ability to access them rapidly, at scale, in a centralised geography, made the UK an ideal place to conduct scientific research. It still remains so. And, if the MHRA, now with greater freedoms post Brexit, was supported through funding and people rather than being cut, it would make the UK even more attractive to foreign companies wanting to conduct trials here. It would also lead to the latest treatments being available to patients in need alongside companies treating the UK with priority when marketing products.
Brexit has also impacted negatively. Chipping away at the confidence of foreign senior science executives making the move to the UK and pharma companies questioning whether to invest here. Alongside this, there have been extended negotiations over VPAS with global pharma companies at loggerheads with the UK. This has resulted in global pharma companies threatening to pull their products from the UK market. That is not an “open for business” sign by any imagination.
There have been successes that the Conservatives can point to in attracting investment, for example, Moderna’s investment in UK vaccine manufacturing. However, it is worth mentioning Pasal Soriot on AstraZeneca $1.5bn manufacturing investment in Singapore, “Singapore is one of the world’s most attractive countries for investment given its reputation for excellence in complex manufacturing”. Importantly the Financial Times added that the Singapore package included tax exemptions and other government subsidies. Is there more the UK could be doing about red tape and taxation to make us more competitive? Another recent announcement of note is the widely celebrated commitment in France from Sanofi, Pfizer and AstraZeneca to invest €2 billion at the ‘Choose France Summit’. GSK, AbbVie and Novartis also committed to expand their R&D and manufacturing sites and in a previous blog on the UK investment environment, we have discussed that France has its ‘Tibi’ scheme to encourage pension funds into growth capital. “Bienvenue en France”.
Echoing the French investment summit vibes and orienting ourselves towards our friends across the Channel for another idea, Labour has pledged to host a global investment summit in the UK within the first 100 days of government. The plan is to invite investors to see a showcase of UK business, infrastructure and innovation opportunities. Rachel Reeves commented that, “It’s not just inviting businesses in for a summit, but really bringing them into the centre of government.”
Labour has committed to grow the economy and it sees foreign policy as an important part of that. In their Manifesto, they have committed to improving the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU by tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade. They also plan to use the UK’s diplomatic network to attract foreign direct investment into the UK, expand markets for British exporters, and shape emerging regulatory frameworks. Taken together these changes could have a positive impact on the life science sector in the UK as it is a global industry reliant on sharing international talent and expertise.
If there was a thriving health and life sciences sector that made the power of the NHS available to industry and government policies that incentivised global pharma and biotech companies to work here, the UK would see a surge in foreign investment in the sector.