The Eastern Powerhouse has this week launched its paper on life science. Co-authored by leading voices within the sector, it calls for a regional approach to maximise the growth opportunities across the East of England.
The UK is a world leader in life sciences, it is one of a small number of industries in which we have a global competitive advantage. It is of particular importance to the East of England, which has the third highest concentration of life science businesses in the UK (behind London and the South East) and the largest life science workforce (as a proportion of all employees).
The life science sector is highly concentrated in and around Cambridge. However, it is also important to the wider region with a presence in many local authority districts across the East of England. In addition to Cambridge there is clear evidence of a clustering effect in and around the science park locations in Norwich and Stevenage, as well as Peterborough, Ipswich, Colchester and Chelmsford.
So, what do the main political parties have to say about the sector and what can we expect from a new Government?
The Labour Manifesto has identified life sciences as ‘one of our great British industries’ and has vowed to set out plans for this vital sector of the economy. Capitalised with £7.3 billion over the course of the next Parliament, the proposed National Wealth Fund will have a remit to support Labour’s growth mission, making transformative investments in leading industries across every part of the country. The fund will have a target of attracting three pounds of private investment for every one pound of public investment. In a manifesto which is light on detail this is a big idea that could bring vital investments to life science businesses in the East, but also to advanced manufacturing.
In our paper, Prashant Shah, CEO and co-founder of o2h group, highlights the need to explore a strategy for the related and complementary industrial development of the eastern region as a whole. Examples include the ‘spillover’ effects that can be gained from Cambridge including downstream drugs manufacturing, which often happens abroad. A change in scope from originating research to the creation of innovation led development and manufacturing, based on proximity to Cambridge and other regional clusters, has the potential to re-imagine and turbo-charge the role of the East as an integral element in the continued success of the UK’s Life Science sector.
The Conservative Manifesto also makes some reference to ‘our world leading life science sector’ with a commitment to push forward with their Advanced Manufacturing Plan, providing a £4.5 billion investment to secure strategic manufacturing sectors including life sciences. The Conservatives will also pursue nimble and agile regulation, to remove bureaucratic obstacles to the development and use of new medicines.
However, there is little in either manifesto that suggests a deep awareness of the opportunities across the inter-related science and technologies - expertise in genomics, agri-tech, biological sciences, green technologies - and the scope for wider industrial development. Nor is there any expression of how a regional approach to sector development, across existing clusters and specialisms, can help scale up the ambition for growth in this sector.
In fairness, manifestos are not the place for such exposition. We will need to wait for the outcome of the election on the 4th July and what begins to emerge in terms of the manifesto commitments. The East must be ready to engage with the new government to convince them of the merits of a regional strategy that can help transform the sector and the UK economy.
Note: The Liberal Democrats make no reference to life sciences in their manifesto.