Excitement around the transformative potential of AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning for our personal and business lives continues to build. In his most recent Budget, the Chancellor announced a swathe of measures to ensure that UK plc is well placed to capitalise on advances in these fields. Alongside an AI sector deal worth up to £950 million, £50 million is being invested in new Turing AI Fellowships to bring the best global researchers in AI to the UK, in addition to a £100 million investment in an international fellowship scheme.
These initiatives support AI research in the broadest sense but they also present a golden opportunity for the UK’s pharmaceutical and healthcare sector. AI and machine learning have the potential to unlock major breakthroughs in the quest to streamline and improve the drug development process, with applications spanning from supporting wider and faster analysis of clinical trial data to enabling the development of personalised medicine.
The key to unlocking these advances is talent. By working with its partners, UK pharma can ensure it continues to be a top choice for aspiring AI researchers, securing the industry’s global position of leadership and thereby continuing to drive better outcomes for patients.
Championing the industry
Companies will need to adapt their individual offers to draw in AI specialists, but as an industry UK pharma should also continue to champion itself and the unique career advantages it holds for the best and brightest researchers.
The opportunity for tech experts to positively change millions of people’s lives by supporting the speedier development of drugs is a powerful draw. When it comes to endorsing the UK life sciences sector versus other international markets, there are already major structural advantages to the UK labour market that we can boast, including offering some of the world’s most generous legislation around annual holiday allowance and maternity and paternity leave. Most importantly, the industry should seek to promote the unparalleled opportunities that working at our centres of life science research and expertise offers.
The UK’s life sciences hubs are the envy of the world, bringing together the mix of world-leading academics, businesses and clinicians needed to pioneer new research and translate it into better patient outcomes. If AI specialists want to make their mark in pharma, then there is no better place. For a start, access to the high volumes of high-quality patient data held by NHS partners at these sites is vital for underpinning AI-led advances in health and care delivery, from portable diagnostics to digital therapeutics.
Maintaining the UK’s edge
Fostering the continued growth and development of these hubs is vital to attracting talent. The right ingredients are already in place, with the Government committing through the Industrial Strategy Life Sciences Sector Deal to improve the country’s infrastructure to further support clustering and, in particular, drive closer links between life sciences organisations and the NHS. The government is now putting cash behind its vision, with £5 million allocated, for example, to developing proposals for Cambridge South station by the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
UK pharma and healthcare leaders should capitalise on this, working with the appropriate development partners to identify any gaps in life science ecosystems and create the right environment and infrastructure for them to thrive. This includes making provision for tech businesses – from large corporate to startups – to join these communities.
AI holds huge potential for the UK pharmaceutical industry and for the treatments of the future, but this can only be unlocked with the right people. The industry and its partners must continue to work together to ensure it is the first choice for skilled AI practitioners – both for the benefit of the sector’s future and the patients that it serves.
Andrew Blevins and Andrew Carrington of Liberty Property Trust and Countryside Properties, joint developers of Cambridge Biomedical Campus
