Industry gives recommendations for UK Lifes Sciences Sector

In a report on the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy, Sir John Bell gave industry recommendations to the U.K. for building a strong life sciences sector in the wake of Brexit. The recommendations, which were requested in January and include input from the country's LSIS board members plus a "wide range of organizations," will form the basis for a government-sector deal to be agreed upon in the coming months. Bell is a professor at the University of Oxford (see BioCentury, Jan. 23).

The report recommends creation of the Health Advanced Research Programme (HARP). Drawing comparisons to DARPA in the U.S., HARP would aim to create two to three new industries over the next 10 years by funding large-scale infrastructure programs and high-risk, long-term projects in the life sciences sector. As part of the program, the report recommends genome sequencing for the 500,000 people in the UK biobank, additional bioinformatic infrastructure and routine whole-genome sequencing of cancer samples...