The 90s really are back in fashion: Tony Blair’s new focus on life sciences

For a Millennial refusing to admit their age, it can be quite upsetting at the moment. Everywhere you look the 90s are back, whether it is teenagers wearing “ironic” clothes or revival tours for Britpop icons like the Spice Girls or even (apparently) Oasis.

It seems that life sciences and technology are not immune from this 90s nostalgia. Former political rivals turned thought leaders Sir Tony Blair and Lord William Hague are back and have released a joint report called A New National Purpose in which they take the Government to task for its policies towards sciences and innovation – particularly life sciences. It is a sign of the perceived importance of this industry to post-Brexit Britain’s fortunes that these two have weighed back into public life.

They highlight the importance of cross-party consensus, whether it is Labour’s focus on clean energy or the Prime Minister’s recent creation of a department dedicated to science in a bid to become a science superpower. However, not fully satisfied with the current Government’s progress, they advocate for the greater use of artificial intelligence and data, particularly in reducing costs for the NHS.

The report’s calls for harnessing the power of data – particularly health data – chime with wider post-Brexit trends in UK data protection regulation, which have focused on unlocking economic growth and reducing Brussels red tape. The Government’s proposals to relax the current rules on scientific research and public sector data use are likely to be music to the ears of Messrs Blair and Hague, although the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill now looks like it will not be passed this Parliamentary session, meaning that the UK GDPR remains on the statue books for at least another six months.

Meanwhile, the possibilities of AI have consumed the public consciousness in recent weeks – driven by the release of consumer tools such as ChatGPT, but leading to questions about broader AI use cases as well as the regulation of such technologies. AI, machine learning and Big Data will (indeed, already do) have a big role to play in the continued growth of UK’s life sciences and technology sectors, but they are not easy wins and their public roll out will likely be challenged by privacy interest groups.

The insightful report considers a range of other issues, including calls for more support for R&D tax credit and the recent reforms. One area of concern is pension reform that many hope will crowd in more venture financing, particularly as the UK, while ahead of Europe, still lags behind the US and its more developed ecosystem. This is part of a growing trend calling for more investment in early stage British companies. However, the pair are also concerned with the bricks and mortar of the industry, including the need for laboratory space.

In terms of what this all means for life sciences investors in the UK, the stage is set for the industry to be a shared battleground in economic debate. Whether this translates into reform and spending remains to be seen, but now would be the time for biotechs and pharma to articulate their wish list if things can only get better.