This October the U.K. Conservative government is carrying out a spending review. Here the chancellor will determine which areas of government will receive additional funding, stay the same or, more probably given the neo-liberal economic agenda, face cuts.
Concerned that investment in research and development to support life sciences might be facing stringent reductions in funding, representatives of over 200 life-science bodies have written to the government asking for the sector to be protected. The letter is addressed to Chancellor George Osborne. The letter notes that prime minister-in-waiting Osborne has previously stated his commitment to the medicine and pharmaceutical sector.
Those who have put their name to the letter include Alison Clough, who is acting chief executive of the ABPI; Harpal Kumar, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK; and Patrick Vallance, the president of pharmaceuticals R&D at GlaxoSmithKline.
The signatories state that funding of life sciences is of great importance if the U.K. wishes to be regarded as a ‘scientific superpower’. Here they write: “diverse public funding is critical to maintain the UK’s world-leading position, and improve the health and wellbeing of the population.”
Although pharmaceutical companies generate large profits, the development of new drugs is normally in conjunction with governments and academic institutions. This, rightly or wrongly, helps a nation state orientate development of medicines towards products that will benefit the population at large.
With this regard, the letter chooses to focus on the economic benefits of public funded support for research and development, noting such funding 2drives growth and attracts a wealth of global corporations, investors and charities.”
Figures quoted within the text note that the combined U.K. pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical technology and diagnostics arenas contribute some £56 billion each year to the economy. These sectors are also a major source of employment, with an estimated 183,000 people employed in Britain alone.
According to PharmaFile the letter has raised some eyebrows, given that GSK is currently instigating redundancies at one of its major U.K. bases and one that specializes in research.
