In this paper, Sir Geoffrey Owen and Dr Michael Hopkins discuss ‘The UK Biotech Sector and Brexit: Past Performance and Future Prospects’.
We have just published Seminar Briefing 23, which summarises a seminar led by Sir Geoffrey Owen and Dr Michael Hopkins. The title of the seminar was ‘The UK Biotech Sector and Brexit: Past Performance and Future Prospects’.
Commentators and policymakers have expressed concern about the status of the biotech industry in the UK, as compared with the United States. In this Seminar Briefing, Owen and Hopkins outline some of the ‘secrets’ to success in the US and chart some of the key early developments in the 1980s. High investment, prompt tackling of institutional challenges, and the status of the pharmaceutical industry are all presented as drivers of success in US biotech.
Short-termism and a lack of government support are sometimes identified as barriers to biotech’s success in the UK. But Owen and Hopkins point to capabilities and timing – even with more support, we might not have expected UK biotech growth to mirror that seen in the US.
The industry faces a new set of challenges in Brexit, which could threaten funding and collaboration opportunities. The impact on supply chains remains undetermined and the continued favourability of the UK as an investment opportunity is uncertain.
Read the full seminar briefing
here.