Science Minister Vallance out — U.K. biotech’s latest body blow

U.K. biotech was waiting for two big pieces of news coming out of Andy Burnham’s first day as Prime Minister. It got mixed outcomes, with the appointment of John Healey as Chancellor of the Exchequer as a positive, but the opposite in the resignation of Minister of Science Patrick Vallance — a move he announced Monday, citing “personal reasons.”

Healey’s naming as Chancellor will be some, but small, solace for the exit of Vallance, though the long-term impact may be greater. Business leaders had feared both the more left-wing and the net-zero policies of Ed Miliband, which were seen as a threat to continued backing of life sciences as a pillar of growth. Miliband, named Foreign Secretary, had been one of the front-runners for the Chancellor job for weeks. Not much is known about what Healey will mean for biotech or the broader markets, but he is seen as a competent politician, with experience, who can span the political divide. He was most recently Defence Secretary, is a veteran of the Blair/Brown era where he was in Treasury for about five years, and was Shadow Health Secretary prior to Burnham. ...