Source: Science Photo Library

Clear ambition: minister wants UK to be premier destination for genomic medicine

Life sciences minister George Freeman has called on academics to support the opening up of health data for research in a bid to get the public on board.

Speaking at the launch event of a new knowledge transfer project at University College London, he added that he wanted the UK to become the go-to place for genomic medicine research in the next decade. He also outlined the government¡¯s plans to get every hospital in the country involved in medical research.

Mr Freeman became the UK¡¯s first life sciences minister in the July 2014 Cabinet reshuffle.

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He said that the government has made some ¡°brave decisions¡± to open up healthcare data for medical research.

¡°We are absolutely convinced we can carry the public with us so long as academics and clinicians are prepared to support the importance of that data for research,¡± he said.

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The government has also invested in genomics, and the UK is the first country to launch a genomic medicines service in its health service, he added. The intention is ¡°to really establish leadership so that Britain becomes the place [to come to for genomic medicine] in the next decade¡±, he said.

His appointment, which brings with it responsibilities in the Department of Health as well the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, signified a shift in policy for the life sciences. ¡°For 25 years the government has been trying to push life sciences through the department of business. But my argument is that you won¡¯t push an industry, you have to pull it through,¡± he said.

His arrival in Parliament came not long before US pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced the closure, in February 2011, of its research and development facilities in Sandwich, he said.

There was a ¡°collective gulp and a bit of panic¡± at that news, he recalled, as a decision had recently been taken to make the life sciences a key part of the long-term economic plan.

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¡°I said we shouldn¡¯t panic at all. This is the closure of a 20th-century plant¡­we want to build a 21st-century landscape.¡±

He said the old model of ¡°deep silos¡± of scientists working on their own, getting venture capital to create a business before being acquired by another company ¡°if they are lucky¡± and then the product passing through different phases of clinical trials was ¡°too long¡± and expensive.

¡°Let¡¯s put in place a new model which will be really patient-centred and let¡¯s unlock the real power of our NHS to be at the heart of a modern life sciences ecosystem,¡± he added.

holly.else@tesglobal.com