Insight 37 - Magazine - Page 13
Genevation which is developing anticancer vaccines; Vasodynamics, which
is helping patients with the side effects
from chemotherapy and Plurify which
is advancing cell and gene therapy for
a range of future treatments. They also
met with Complement Therapeutics
which successfully raised over €72million
funding in 2023 to help tackle vision loss
in older people and other eye conditions.
Following the tour, the Labour Ministers
took part in a roundtable discussion
with AstraZeneca, GSK, BioIndustry
Association (BIA) together with two of
SBC’s high growth companies leaders
from SBC, Complement Therapeutics and
Autifony Therapeutics to discuss some of
the biggest opportunities and challenges
facing the sector. This provided Labour
with valuable feedback on their plans to
support the sector’s start-ups, scale-ups,
and established companies.
Labour has announced that if elected it
would increase investment in research
and development in the pharmaceutical
sector by £10bn a year. The focus will be
on the development of next generation
medical treatments such as cell and
gene therapy, mRNA vaccines and the
use of AI in healthcare – all very much in
evidence today at SBC.
Dr Sally Ann Forsyth OBE, said: “The
fact that Labour chose to launch their
Life Sciences Strategy here in Stevenage
demonstrates that the innovation
happening on campus is powering the
UK economy and the next generation of
healthcare. This was a great opportunity
to showcase some of the fantastic science
taking place at SBC and also to have a
frank and open conversation about the
challenges facing our sector.
Peter Kyle, Shadow Secretary of
State for Science, Innovation and
Technology, said: “If we get this right,
we can transform the NHS so that it
becomes an engine of innovation, a
driver
of growth and a public service that once
again delivers world class outcomes for
patients. Labour will work hand in glove
with life sciences companies to tackle the
biggest killers, reduce the number of lives
lost to heart disease, stroke and cancer
and create thousands of new jobs across the
country.”
Wes Streeting, Shadow Secretary of
State for Health and Social Care, said:
“The life sciences are key to our mission
for an NHS fit for the future and pioneering
breakthroughs that will transform and
extend lives for the better. [...] This plan
will ensure that NHS patients get better
care and that more life-saving medicines
are developed right here in the UK to help
people live better lives.”
Steve Bates OBE, CEO of the BioIndustry
Association, said: “Innovative small
companies are the innovation drivers for
the life sciences industry and facilities like
Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst provide
them with valuable support on their scaling
journey. The plans set out by Labour today
will help ensure sites like this can continue
to deliver economic growth for their local
communities and innovative medicines for
the world.”
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