1st February 2016
BIA members call on government to continue the success of the Biomedical Catalyst in their 2016 Budget response
The UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) has submitted its recommendations to the Government for the 2016 budget highlighting key areas that must be addressed if the UK life science sector is to continue to grow and benefit both the economy and society.
The submission outlines the key areas of treasury policy that BIA members believe must continue in order for the sector’s current success to be maintained and refined including; R&D tax credits, the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), Patent Box and the overall tax framework.
A particular area of concern that the BIA has highlighted if the UK is to become the third global biotech cluster, is the continuation of the Biomedical Catalyst scheme, as matched grant funding is the only workable and effective mechanism to fund high risk early stage research.
A further concern is that private financing may fall away without continued and sufficient funding for the Biomedical Catalyst scheme which leveraged more than £100 million in private funding, and from which over a further £1 billion has been raised by post-award funded companies and academics in the form of additional private finance, grant funding, via licencing or acquisition.
BIA Chief Executive Officer, Steve Bates, said:
“Following last November’s Comprehensive Spending Review, the BIA and its members have been carefully considering how different types of funding products can support innovation in the life sciences sector. What is clear to us is that there is no effective substitute for matched-grant funding in supporting high risk, early stage research.
“In this submission, we call on the government to ensure that sufficient funding is made available to Innovate UK to continue the successful Biomedical Catalyst scheme. The Biomedical Catalyst provides a small yet powerful source of funding, helping life science companies to bridge the valley of death and attract private financing that would not have been forthcoming without this initial support.
“If we are continue to build on current momentum in the UK life sciences sector, scale it to be a true global leader and improve its productivity and output to the good of UK economy and society, then this would be a smart investment and refinement of existing and successful public policy by the government.”
The submission also focuses on a further three areas:
- Capital relief for industrial buildings to incentivise investment in medicines manufacturing: the UK has an uncompetitive tax regime for capital expenditure which means the UK is losing out to other countries as a location for investment in job intensive assets such as medicines manufacturing sites. To address this we call on the government to introduce an industrial buildings allowance which would provide an effective incentive to attract investment which would bring broader benefits to the UK.
- Targeted incentives to promote investment and support entrepreneurs: to build on existing initiatives, we call on the government to consider revisions to the current entrepreneurs relief; inheritance tax relief similar to that for Non-Agricultural Woodlands to be introduced for family office investments in the bioscience sector; and the development of the BIA’s Citizen Innovation Funds proposal to extend investment opportunities to those not at the top end of the income bracket.
- A funded Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS): in order to position the UK as the most compelling global location to develop new treatments, a reimbursed EAMS scheme, as set out in the 2011 Life Sciences Strategy must be committed to and funded.