STAT+: U.K. unveils $800 million package to bolster life sciences amid concern over biopharma investments
LONDON — The U.K. government on Thursday unveiled an $800 million package to bolster the life sciences, highlighting officials’ efforts to grow the industry even as biopharma companies have raised alarms about policies they say are deterring them from investing further in the country.
The initiative includes a $190 million infusion into the U.K. Biobank, a major genomics and health endeavor with data from half a million participants, to build a new research facility and to enhance collaboration with industry and academia. Other efforts include a boost in mental health clinical research and investments in pharmaceutical manufacturing technology and workforce development, as well as a plan to grow and streamline industry clinical trials — a key point of concern as the U.K. has fallen behind other countries in running such studies.
“These are businesses that are growing our economy while having much wider benefits for our health — and this multimillion-pound investment will help them go even further,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said in a statement.
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