MHRA refresh boosts U.K. biotech’s chances of success — Annalisa Jenkins
U.K. biotech leader on how growth capital, immigration, and less British reserve could advance the government’s life science strategy — on the BioCentury Show
A new head at MHRA, a streamlined government life sciences strategy, and a more sophisticated innovation ecosystem have Annalisa Jenkins optimistic about the future of U.K. biotech — and its potential to carve out a stronger global role.
On The BioCentury Show, Annalisa Jenkins, chair of Gemma Biotherapeutics Inc., discussed the evolving landscape of biotech in the U.K. and the critical hurdles it faces as it implements the latest strategy. Jenkins, who was president and CEO of Dimension Therapeutics Inc., is a committee member on the Science Board to FDA, a board member of Genomics England and Faster Cures, and chair of the court at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Some things have not changed for U.K. biotech: on the one hand, there’s still a high need for growth capital; on the other, there’s still a high volume of top quality research and translatable science in the U.K.
But a few factors in a changing picture have the ability to accelerate progress here and there, which collectively can make an impact.
The addition of Lawrence Tallon as CEO of MHRA brings new energy, Jenkins believes, to an agency that has been somewhat adrift since EMA left London for Amsterdam after Brexit and had to establish itself anew.
Tallon, who was deputy chief executive at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, joined the agency in April, at a time when the U.K. government has placed life sciences as a cornerstone of its growth strategy, which includes boosting the role of the regulatory agency.
Part of the mission is to enable regulatory pathways that are globally competitive, said Jenkins. “It’s about focus. It’s about having the right people. It’s about having the right risk tolerance.”
“We need to be very progressive on our immigration and visa policies to be able to attract the best and the brightest.”
Jenkins noted that the hope is for the U.K. to regain its position as a leader in clinical trials, a position it held about a decade ago, when companies often ran their Phase I and Phase II studies there.
“What we have now is a doubling down on the commitment to try and attract back sponsors as well as those in the academic communities to conduct their clinical research,” she said. “The government really has noticed a significant falloff in the number of patients participating in clinical research and has made a very dedicated effort and set numbers that they want to hit in terms of the participatory rates.”
Frequent changes in government have not helped, she said.
“We’re on like number five or six prime minister, and we all know that when you’re in a sector like ours that needs consistent sustained investment and long-term investment, the antithesis of progress is a continuous recycling of leadership, which can sometimes result in never-ending changes to policy and priorities and funding,” said Jenkins.
Still, she noted, prioritization of the sector has crossed party lines, and the shift in perception of the importance of the life sciences that started in the pandemic.
“It doesn’t matter which political party you talk to, all of them understand that growth and prosperity for U.K. plc” requires a robust industrial strategy for life sciences, she said. Jenkins sees three core changes that need to happen in U.K. life sciences.
The first is to attract and scale capital — a longstanding hurdle. “It’s a perennial issue; it’s not unique to the U.K.,” she said.
The second is about ensuring the U.K. can be a home for top talent. “We need to be very progressive on our immigration and visa policies to be able to attract the best and the brightest,” she said, an issue that is “very topical right now.”
Finally, U.K. biotech needs to continue its cultural progression to encourage greater risk appetite. “The British can sometimes be seen as somewhat cautious, perhaps not willing to celebrate success, or feel that wealth creation and health creation go together.” Risk taking and accepting failures needs to become commonplace for the sector to really take off, according to Jenkins.
She added that building a highly functioning market will remain a critical issue. “Can you build unicorns in this sector from the AIM and the FTSE?”