30 January 2026 11:40 UTC · UK Government · GOV.UK Speech · Source · Email X Link

UK Government says life sciences vital for growth

Key points

Life sciences essential for UK growth and the NHS
Government guarantees £1.5bn R&D funding and long-term MRC support

TL;DR

Employs more than 350,000 people and contributes over £145 billion to the economy.
Aims to be the top life sciences economy in Europe by 2030 and third globally by 2035.
Guarantees £1.5 billion for life sciences R&D over the next four years; MRC Lab for Molecular Biology to receive 10 years of guaranteed funding, starting with around £50 million a year over the next four years.
Announces Health Data Research Service (HDRS), speeding up clinical trials, a landmark pharma deal with the US, and the biggest-ever government R&D investment including more than £38 billion for UKRI.
References initiatives to unlock private investment: Mansion House Accord, Pension Schemes Bill, and British Business Bank’s £4 billion Growth Capital initiative.

Original text

Good evening! It’s absolutely wonderful to be here to help celebrate this incredible sector. My brief message tonight is very simple… …there is no path to stronger growth in this country… …no answer to how we pay our way, and compete with the rest of the world… …nor any route to a better NHS, and a better future for patients, without the British life sciences and biotech sector, leading from the front and centre. You already employ more than 350,000 people. And contribute over £145 billion to our economy. In just the last few years, we’ve had so many phenomenal breakthroughs. Like Autolus and their new treatment for a rare type of leukaemia. Vertex developing a gene-editing therapy for blood disorders. And Bristol Myers Squibb’s immunotherapy jab that means cancer patients can now be treated in 5 minutes – instead of sitting for an hour with an IV drip. You are changing lives, changing our country too. But I know that you, and we, want to go even further together. Our goal is to make the UK the top life sciences economy in Europe by 2030. And the third, globally, by 2035. That ambition drives not only me as the Science and Tech Secretary, but the Chancellor, and our Prime Minister. And we have powerful champions in government, including the fantastic Patrick Vallance, and Steve Bates at our expanded Office for Life Sciences. In the six months since we launched our Life Sciences Sector Plan we have made real progress. We’re making the NHS a better customer for innovation. Speeding up clinical trials, which we can and should expect to see much more progress on. A new Health Data Research Service ( HDRS ): a single, secure access point to national scale health data. A landmark pharma deal with the US. And we are putting the biggest ever investment into R&D funding of any government ever, including more than £38 billion for UKRI . And I am really delighted to confirm that alongside extra investment for AI research and for engineering biology, the dedicated budget for life sciences will guarantee £1.5 billion for R&D in this sector, over the next 4 years. And also I’m delighted to announce that the MRC Lab for Molecular Biology, in Cambridge… …Britain’s very own “Nobel Prize factory”… …will receive 10-years of guaranteed funding. Starting with around £50 million a year, over the next four years, in this Spending Review . But you know better than anyone that public money is part only of the equation. We have got to unlock private investment too. This government wants to get Britain’s wealth doing more to back Britain’s innovators. That’s why the Chancellor announced the Mansion House Accord, and why as Work and Pensions Secretary I introduced the Pension Schemes Bill, to drive consolidation in the pensions market, to boost investment in UK PLC. And it’s why in June, the British Business Bank ( BBB ) launched its £4 billion Industrial Strategy Growth Capital initiative, to help promising firms to scale up, and keep them in the UK for longer. So let me just finish by saying this. You are one of Britain’s greatest national assets. When we work in partnership, the government and businesses together… …patients get faster access to better drugs… …companies scale-up and stay in the UK… …jobs are created, putting more money into people’s pockets, helping boost our economy. That is the promise found in this room. That is why you are so important, so let us crack on with the job. Thank you.

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