Today IPPR release a lost decade - the story of missed opportunities in life sciences.
Three prime ministers now have prioritised life sciences - a traditional UK strength. David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson have all made firm commitments
Despite this, performance has been wholly stagnant since 2010. We have not kept up in attracting research and development spend to this country. Nor have we kept up in attracting life science manufacturing to this country.
The economic loss is large. We have missed out on 15 billion economic gain from R and D and 29.5 billion from manufacturing - compared with just maintaining our existing performance. That’s 45 billion, missed - as well as the associated skilled jobs.
Life sciences are already vulnerable to Brexit. But after a lost decade, it represents a potential cliff edge. We must do more to mitigate the threat of Brexit to health, and we must invest more in science. Nice words from senior politicians on this topic are no longer enough.
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