Spring Blog

24 FEBRUARY 2023

BioPartner's February round up of industry news

DIT becomes DBT

On 7 February 2023, The Department for International Trade (DIT) was merged in a reshuffle with parts of the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to form the new Department of Business and Trade (DBT). Kemi Badenoch, previously Secretary of State for International Trade, became Secretary of State for Business and Trade.

DIT was created in 2016 as a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for striking and extending UK trade agreements, as well as encouraging foreign investment and export trade. It took on the responsibilities of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), which was previously operated jointly by the Foreign Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; it also took on the latter's other relevant trade functions, as well as responsibility for UK Export Finance. In doing so, the department can trace its institutional history back to the longstanding Department of Trade and Industry (1970-2007), itself formed from a merger of the Board of Trade with the short-lived Ministry of Technology in 1970.

Newly created is the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) continues to opersate as a joint unit between the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) and the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). George Freeman and Will Quince are now co-ministers for life science: George in the new DSIT and Will in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The BIA welcomed the news and looks forward to continued strong engagement with them.

R&D Tax credits

On February 1st The BIA submitted its representation to HM Treasury for the Spring Budget 2023.

Comments and concerns focus on government announcements and reviews of R&D tax relief, which do not match the rhetoric of a pro-innovation growth agenda and ambitions for the UK to be a science superpower. The halving of the SME R&D tax relief at Autumn Statement has negatively impacted investment decisions, resulted in cancelled hiring plans and movement of investment from the UK. Innovative companies are living through half a decade of instability due to successive and ongoing changes to the R&D tax relief at a time when the UK should be doing everything it can to support start-ups and scale-ups.

See the full submission here: https://www.bioindustry.org/static/d60d2028-dff4-44c2-b57faacf267f99aa/BIA-submission-to-Spring-Budget-2023.pdf

The Global Bioeconomy

On 12 September 2022, President Biden published an executive order setting out a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative (NBBI) which doubles down on the growth of the US bioeconomy. The implementation plan is due by June 2023. Biden’s EO defines the bioeconomy as ‘economic activity derived from the life sciences, particularly in the areas of biotechnology and biomanufacturing’, where biomanufacturing is ‘the use of biological systems to develop products, tools, and processes at commercial scale’. The EO covers health, energy, food security, climate change, agriculture, and more.

The BIA suggests that the UK already has all of the ingredients necessary for a world-leading bioeconomy. However, the crossdepartmental breadth of the bioeconomy necessitates strong coordination by government. The UK can learn from the NBBI the value of government oversight and strategy in transforming these ingredients into a thriving bioeconomy. The creation of DSIT with cabinet-level representation could be key in driving this agenda forward.

See the BIA National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative briefing at https://www.bioindustry.org/resource-listing/national-biotechnology-and-biomanufacturing-initiative-briefing.html

UK commercial clinical trials review

Lord James O’Shaughnessy has been appointed to conduct an independent review into the UK commercial clinical trials landscape.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) outlined a 44% drop in the number of participants recruited to commercial clinical trials in the last 5 years, exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic. The number of industry clinical trials initiated in the UK per year fell by 41% between 2017 and 2021. Lord O’Shaughnessy will publish his advice this spring. This will include recommendations of priority actions to make progress in 2023, as well as setting out longer-term ambitions for UK clinical trials.

See more at the Office for Life Sciences website https://www.gov.uk/government/news/lord-oshaughnessy-to-lead-independent-review-into-uk-clinical-trials

Jobs

NIHR BioResource hiring a Communications Manager (Temporary Cover) in Cambridge!

The role will lead on proactive and reactive communications to support and promote the NIHR BioResource. You will have the responsibility to implement a multi-channel communications strategy for the NIHR BioResource, in order to raise its profile and its impact on research activity to diverse audiences and stakeholders. Hosted by the University of Cambridge, you can enjoy a wide range of employee benefits such as flexible working arrangements, family-friendly policies and an attractive pension scheme.

Sounds good? If so, please apply https://lnkd.in/e3SmPu2a

SB Drug Discovery is hiring (a division of Sygnature Discovery)

Due to our continued growth, we are expanding our Business Development team. For more information and to apply, please visit our website: https://lnkd.in/g6VEhQp

Appointments

Mohini Kochrekar has been appointed Communications Manager at Fitabeo Therapeutics!