APPG for Life Sciences

The APPG’s chair @kitmalthouse MP said: “The Life Sciences sector holds out an incredible promise that the UK can be at the forefront of humanity’s battle with disease and at the same time build a 21st century knowledge-based economy.”

We are thrilled to relaunch as the new APPG for Life Sciences🌱🔬 This cross-party group of MPs and peers has just called on the Chancellor to support the UK’s life sciences sector in the #Budget2024 Thank you to everyone who joined our inaugural meeting.

Engineering biology is set to transform what's possible in health, food and fuels. To seize this critical tech's potential the UK's Eng Bio innovators need capital. Promising talks at 10 Downing Street with @DBTInvestment & investors, to make that happen.

Wednesday's Budget was full of measures to support the life sciences: 🧬 Further pension fund reform to unlock investment into innovative life sciences 🔬 £45m to support medical research careers 🧫 £92m invested in life sciences manufacturing gov.uk/government/new…

Hot on the heels of AMR awareness week, today the APPG held a lunch in Parliament to discuss UK leadership on antimicrobial resistance (#AMR). We were joined by @AMRActionFund @AbbottNews @INFEX_TX Thanks to @maggie_erewash @ChiOnwurah @willquince

New data from @BIA_UK and @ClarivateHealth has shown that Q3 2023 was the strongest for the UK since 2021. With a total increase of 48% on Q2, the standout figure was follow-on financing, which climbed to £315 million. biotechfinance.org/q3/

Life sciences news this week 📰: 150,000 UK patients with type 1 diabetes will be offered an artificial pancreas on the NHS following the publication of NICE guidance. The announcement has been hailed a ‘gamechanger’ in a win for #medtech innovation. theguardian.com/society/2023/n…

Following on from our breakfast roundtable with Parliamentarians and #apprentices, thanks to Maggie Throup MP who kindly raised the issue in the chamber last week.

We hosted a breakfast roundtable this morning to discuss championing #apprenticeships in the life sciences🧑‍🔬 We were joined by apprentices from @achillestx @ASTRAZENECAUK @SiemensHealth @LabcorpDrugDev Thanks to @DanielZeichner @natalieben @LordPhilofBrum @maggie_erewash

The UK has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Israel on science, tech, research and innovation. Signed by Science Minister George Freeman and his counterpart Ofir Akunis, the deal will mean closer collaboration between two life science powers. gov.uk/government/new…

Life sciences news this week 📰: Researchers at @GoogleDeepMind have developed an #AI tool which can predict which genetic mutations are harmful. The tool, AlphaMissense, has been made available to scientists in the hope it will accelerate diagnosis. ft.com/content/f8f518…

NIHR will spend an additional £30 million per year to significantly increase opportunities for healthcare professionals to include research in their careers. This will include funding for a range of new and expanding programmes of activity. nihr.ac.uk/news/extra-30m…

New data has shown that UK life sciences raised £382 million in Q2, up 29% on the previous quarter. clarivate.com/news/uk-biotec…

Life sciences news this week 📰: @UKHSA has opened a new vaccines centre to support the ‘100 days mission’. The new £65 million containment labs will help to identify and vaccinate against novel pathogens with #pandemic potential. ft.com/content/b35671…

📢Engineering biologists, we want to hear from you! The government is fielding a call for evidence on this cutting-edge field. @NorwichChloe met with pioneering UK businesses to discuss challenges and opportunities facing the sector. Have your say ⏬ gov.uk/government/con…

A new drug has shown promising results in the fight against Alzheimer’s 💊 Working by removing buildups of amyloid protein from the brain, the #antibodytherapy has been shown to slow the pace of the disease by a third. bbc.com/news/health-66…

Life sciences news this week 📰: An update on life sciences competitiveness indicators has been published. While the UK’s relative budget allocation for health R&D has increased, inward investment fell from £1.9bn to £1bn between 2021 and 2022. gov.uk/government/pub…

Life sciences news this week 📰 Late-stage trials of a #vaccine for tuberculosis have been funded by @gatesfoundation and @wellcometrust with the potential to save 8.5 million lives over the next 25 years. economist.com/science-and-te…

A new trial at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary is investigating the role #AI can play in detecting breast cancer. With the PM hoping to make the UK a world leader on AI, it is welcome to see this novel technology helping to improve health outcomes. bbc.com/news/technolog…

Life sciences news this week 📰: Oliver Dowden, Deputy Prime Minister, has published the government’s Biological Security Strategy. It takes a #onehealth approach and reaffirms their commitment to being able to develop a novel vaccine in 100 days. gov.uk/government/pub…