Words by GOLD newsdesk
A new report looking at the current trade and investment position of the UK life sciences sector and its future growth highlights the need for greater support and strategy.
Published on 28 November 2022 by the UK Board of Trade, the report analyses global trends and the importance of the life sciences industry to trade, as well as strengths and opportunities within the UK life sciences sector and how trade and investment solutions can address global challenges.
Responding to the report, Claire Machin, Executive Director of International Policy, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), welcomed its evidence that the life sciences sector is of vital importance to the UK’s strategy for exports, trade and economic growth.
However, she also noted that it “captures worrying signs that we may be falling behind our global competitors", that have been reflected elsewhere. For example, Machin says: “The manufacture of life science products has seen a rapid decline in recent years, with the UK falling from 4th to 98th place in overall trade balance for pharmaceuticals since 2010.”
The report, she says, is further evidence of “the urgent need to improve the UK's offer to global life sciences companies using the UK’s trade policy strategy, as one tool to help reverse this trend and further drive the UK’s economic recovery.”