During the announcement of the Autumn Budget on Wednesday 27 October, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak pledged to commit to spending £5 billion on health-related research and development before 2025.
Pharmaphorum reports that the funding has been welcomed by industry groups, however, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) said it had concerns about how the money will be spent.
A spokesperson for the ABPI said: “Increasing health-specific research to £5 billion is a positive signal that the government remains committed to this agenda, despite the delay in when we will reach £22 billion a year of public investment in R&D.”
The ABPI said there is a need for further clarity on how the government plans to fund institutions such as the MHRA and NICE, but it welcomed the extra funding that is part of the Treasury’s pledge to raise spending on R&D in the UK to £22 billion a year.
However, the Chancellor also announced during his Budget presentation that he will be moving the goalposts on his target, pushing it back by two years to 2026/27.
The ABPI also welcomed the announcement by the Chancellor that R&D tax reliefs would be reformed to ‘support modern research methods’.
The £5 billion funding pot does contain funds that have already been assigned for specific uses, for instance, £95 million to the Office for Life Sciences to help deliver the government’s Life Sciences Vision, as well as finds to launch the PM’s cancer, obesity, and mental health healthcare missions.
The manufacture of medicines, diagnostics, and vaccines will receive £354 million for research into health resilience, while also creating new roles within the UK life sciences sector.
If you’re looking for life science recruitment and security training, talk to us today.