Future Health has today published a new report reviewing past UK Government last sciences strategies and the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches adopted.

The research, (The Jewel in the Crown – Final) undertaken by former UK Government Special Adviser Richard Sloggett and sponsored by Novartis, assessed the policy objectives and frameworks adopted across the 2011, 2017 and 2021 strategies. The research, which forms part of Future Health’s health and economy workstream is published to coincide with London Life Sciences Week and at a time when the new Government is building its own life sciences plan. The research finds that:

• Political sponsorship of past strategies has primarily sat between the health and business departments, with the business department mostly in the lead development role – indicating a primary aim for using the strategies to increase the level of life science inward investment into the UK’s science and research base
• Whilst the approach of adopting ‘missions’ – covering particular disease areas such as dementia and cancer in the most recent strategy (2021) has been widely welcomed and some progress has been made, this has been slower than hoped – undermined in particular by political instability
• Whilst all past strategies have focused on driving the adoption of innovation through the NHS, progress has been piecemeal. The Accelerated Access Review has led to the rapid adoption of some products, but progress on a more systemic basis, at scale, has been harder to realise. Life sciences has not been prioritised within NHS delivery frameworks
• Oversight of the strategies has been formalised over time into the cross Government Life Sciences Council. However the work and remit of the Council is not always clear. Metrics such as the Life Science Competitiveness Indicators do not lineup directly with commitments in the most recent strategy
• Funding in support of the strategies has been relatively targeted and piecemeal aimed at particular initiatives or via discreet innovation pots. There has been some use of fiscal incentives to underpin the delivery of the wider goals within the strategies such as greater investment in early stage life sciences R&D

The new Labour Government has emphasised the importance of life sciences to both its health and growth agendas. Life sciences is an identified priority sector within the industrial strategy green paper and the Health and Social Care Secretary has spoken of how life sciences can help him deliver NHS reform and turn his Department into a Department for ‘economic growth’.

As part of the research, Future Health spoke to fifteen former and current Ministers, Advisers and Officials on how the new Government should go about developing and building a new framework for successfully delivering on its life sciences ambitions. The proposals in the framework include:

• Promoting and maintaining a consistent long-term approach to an active industrial strategy. The new Government, led by the Prime Minister and Chancellor, should use the creation of a new life sciences plan to set-out ambitions for building a life science ecosystem that delivers, and co-ordinates action, so it brings both economic growth and improved health outcomes for the UK.
• Ensuring senior co-ordinated Government leadership on life sciences is reflected across Number 10, HMT, DHSC, DSIT, DBT and NHS England with aligned objectives and priorities. To support this the profile and resources of the OLS  should be boosted and the Life Sciences Council refreshed into an effective co-ordinating body focused on the delivery of the plan, meeting more regularly, commissioning and undertaking deep-dives on specific policy challenges to unblock barriers and communicating publicly on progress and actions taken.
• Evolving and anchoring the life science missions. The missions from the Life Sciences Vision should evolve to align with the forthcoming NHS ten year plan and the anticipated focus on prevention, early diagnosis and innovative treatment. The missions should be updated to include action on multi-morbidities.
• Using problem statements to build mission partnerships and find solutions. The Government should work with the healthcare system to create problem statements that each mission needs to address (e.g. earlier cancer diagnosis). Use this approach to then (a) galvanise Government-NHS-industry partnerships; and (b) commission rapid policy reviews through expert ‘task and finish groups’ to help quickly identify and overcome barriers to progress.
• Improving the co-ordination of delivery between Government and the NHS. The Government should use the problem statements of the evolved missions to help embed life sciences and innovation in NHS service planning and delivery. Appoint a new Life Sciences Director, with requisite experience, to the NHS England Board with accountability for progress. Embed progress targets and mission goals – including those relating to economic growth – in relevant performance management frameworks such as the Mandate and the ICB Oversight Framework.
• Harmonising resources. Set longer term R&D budgets for life sciences and innovation at the Spending Review to provide greater certainty on chosen priorities. Make fewer, bigger R&D bets, invest in core system fundamentals, and harmonise and simplify initiatives (such as on health data). Ensure regulators and bodies involved in the life science ecosystem are suitably resourced to support the aims of a healthier and wealthier population as set out within the health and economic missions.
• Deploying innovation at scale. Utilise the relicensing of Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs), into Health Innovation Networks (HINs) to reset expectations on the deployment of innovation within the NHS. Use the evolved missions and the new networks to identify larger geographic footprints to deploy mission based interventions at greater scale. To deliver on this HINs will need new capacity and a clear remit for driving forward innovation at scale within the NHS.
• Enhancing transparency and accountability. Through reviewing and refreshing the Life Sciences Competitiveness Indicators to ensure they are up to date, enable effective international comparisons and line-up with the new life sciences plan’s priorities. Develop a balanced set of metrics across the priorities of the plan including a focus on levels of spend relating to new medicines and their uptake within the NHS. Set clear targets for improvement across different domains and commit to publish an annual report in Parliament on progress in delivering the new plan and an online dashboard tracking performance. Where performance is behind set targets, commit to publish clear proposals for recovery, with associated transparent timelines

Richard Sloggett, Programme Director at Future Health said: “The Government has rightly identified life sciences as a critical sector for both its economic and healthcare ambitions. Any new life sciences plan however needs to learn from those that have come before. There have been some clear successes particularly when looking at genomic medicine and the discovery and deployment of vaccinations and new treatments during the pandemic. However past government strategies have struggled to align objectives across Whitehall, lacked structured resources against ambitions set and been too detached from the priorities of the health system to deliver systemic changes. As it builds a new life sciences plan, we hope this research can help the Government in building a successful plan for the future.”

Rob Thomas, Head of Public Affairs, Novartis UK and Ireland: “Future Health Research’s analysis comes at a critical time for UK life sciences. The new Government has rightly recognised the importance of the sector in driving economic growth and supporting the turnaround of the NHS. There has always been a shared ambition for UK to be a true leader in life sciences, yet sometimes delivery and implementation has not lived up to the rhetoric. Alongside the publication of a new Life Science Action Plan, the Government must put in place the right infrastructure and partnerships to ensure the visions succeeds.”