Life Sciences Sector Plan Launched - Delivery Is Now Key
Topic : News and Press Type : Briefing
ABHI welcomes the launch of the Life Sciences Sector Plan. Developed with meaningful engagement from the HealthTech industry, including a range of ABHI members, the Plan demonstrates a clear ambition to strengthen the sector. This is particularly evident in its commitments to support the adoption of innovation within the NHS and to reform the regulatory environment, enabling patients to access the best technologies available.
HealthTech will be critical in driving healthcare innovation and reform and enabling the NHS to make the three shifts it needs to ensure the sustainability of the service. We hope the focus on R&D will acknowledge the peculiar requirements of HealthTech, and that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's commitment to long-term funding for critical research infrastructure will include initiatives such as the HealthTech Research Centres and Innovation Accelerators.
Industrial strategy cannot be “done” to industry, it has to be delivered with and by industry, and in the coming months it will be vital that there is a clear plan of engagement to focus on tackling the significant and persistent barriers that exist to the adoption of innovation and distract from the Plan’s ambition to make our country the best in which to start, scale, grow and invest in the sector. These include a regulatory system that uses pragmatic models of reliance on approvals from other trusted, jurisdictions, and one that is synonymous with innovation and early access for NHS patients. Financial flows must support the adoption of innovation and empower local decision making within a national context, and, to be successful, the Plan will need to secure the deep and committed engagement of the NHS.
ABHI and its members are committed to supporting the delivery of the Sector Plan, and ensuring it makes a full and meaningful contribution to the implementation of the 10 Year Health Plan.