29 May 2018

Inaugural Meeting of the UK Life Sciences Council

The 16th May 2018 saw the new UK Life Sciences Council meet for the first time. The UK Life Sciences Council is a partnership between government and industry, which follows on from the Life Sciences Sector Deal, involving commitments and investments into the UK by 25 global organisations from across the life sciences sector.

The main objectives of the partnership are:

  • to ensure that the UK continues to be a global leader in life sciences;
  • to provide the strategic direction required to ensure that the UK remains an attractive destination for the life sciences industry for investment, particularly in a challenging global environment; and
  • to develop and launch the next generation of medicines, technologies and diagnostics and provide care and treatment for patients.

Co-chaired by Business Secretary, Greg Clark, and Health and Social Care Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, the meeting was attended by a range of life sciences industry experts, representing medical devices, biotech and pharmaceuticals.

Discussions unsurprisingly included Brexit, particularly the importance of the supply of medicines, regulatory alignment and the needs of patients. The Government emphasised its commitment to achieving a good outcome for the life sciences sector during the Brexit negotiations, and its desire to continue the UK’s history of innovation in this area. The UK continues to have extremely buoyant health and life sciences sectors, worth over £70 billion to the UK economy and providing jobs for almost 241,000 people across the country.

If you have any questions about life sciences and strategies ahead of Brexit, please contact Managing Associate, Bethanny Gibbs on [email protected].

Bethany has a Master’s degree in Natural Sciences, specialising in Neuroscience, from the University of Cambridge, and is a qualified European Patent Attorney and UK qualified Chartered Patent Attorney. Working alongside Mathys & Squire Partners Monika Rai and David Miller, Bethany is involved in European prosecution, opposition and appeal work in the fields of pharmacology and biotechnology, as well as the provision of freedom-to-operate opinions and associated strategic advice.