Chancellor announces package including for life sciences and manufacturing R&D
Ahead of the Spring Budget this week, the chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced an investment package in the UK’s life sciences and manufacturing sectors.
The funding will go towards several companies and projects who are making technology in sectors key to economic growth and part of wider government support to ensure the UK is the best place to start, grow and invest in manufacturing.
This includes £7.5 million to support two pharmaceutical companies who are investing a combined £84 million to expand their manufacturing plants in the UK. Almac, a pharmaceutical company in Northern Ireland produces drugs to treat diseases such as cancer, heart disease and depression, while Ortho Clinical diagnostics in Pencoed, Wales, is expanding its facilities producing testing products used to identify a variety of diseases and conditions.
The chancellor is also confirming that companies will soon be able to apply for a share of the £520 million funding for life sciences manufacturing announced at Autumn Statement, with competitions for large scale investments opening for expressions of interest this summer and medium and smaller sized companies in the autumn. The fund is designed to build resilience for future health emergencies such as influenza pandemics and capitalise on the UK’s research and development.
Chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: “We’re sticking with our plan by backing the industries of the future with millions of pounds of investment to make the UK a world leader in manufacturing, securing the highly-skilled jobs of the future and delivering the long-term change our country needs to deliver a brighter future for Britain”.
Science secretary, Michelle Donelan, added: “The UK’s £108 billion life sciences sector is driven by the pioneering contributions of over 300,000 highly-skilled individuals who transform lives through groundbreaking advancements in drug discovery and diagnostics.
“We fuel this progress by fostering a dynamic environment where cutting-edge technologies like AI and genomics meet world-class research to create the next generation of healthcare solutions, including in our NHS. By investing in advanced manufacturing facilities, we are protecting our communities by ensuring we can rapidly respond to future health emergencies and deliver life-saving innovations when they are needed most.”
Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK, said: “Industry will welcome this announcement as yet another boost for key sectors that will put advanced manufacturing at the heart of the UK’s economic future. These industries will be key to addressing many of the societal challenges we face in a competitive world and highlight what can be achieved with a constructive dialogue between Government and business. Taken together they are another piece in the jigsaw of a modern industrial strategy to make the UK a world leader in key sectors of the future.”