The new Life Science Sector Plan aims to accelerate economic growth and transform the NHS through innovation, research, and technology
This comes as part of the Industrial Strategy and the 10-Year Health Plan. This new blueprint outlines a ten-year mission to harness the UK’s world-leading scientific base to deliver health and wealth for the nation.
The UK sector is valued at around £100 billion and employs over 300,000 people, with the majority being outside London and the Southeast.
The new Life Science Sector Plan aims to build on this strength, ensuring that British scientific breakthroughs developed in the UK are also commercialised at home, supporting jobs and improving health outcomes across the country.
A three-pillar strategy for growth and innovation
The Life Science Sector Plan is built around three core pillars:
- World-class R&D: Strengthening the UK’s global leadership in scientific discovery and innovation.
- Business growth and investment: Making the UK the best place to start, scale, and invest in life sciences.
- Health innovation and NHS reform: Improving patient outcomes by modernising and reforming the NHS with new technologies and preventative care.
Each of these pillars is designed to support economic resilience and create more efficient, patient-focused health services.
Six key actions to drive change
To deliver immediate benefits as part of the Life Science Sector Plan, the government is funding more than £2 billion over the current Spending Review period, with six initiatives leading the charge:
- Unlocking NHS data: A £600 million investment will create the world’s most advanced health data infrastructure, promoting the discovery of new treatments.
- Faster clinical trials: Regulatory reforms will reduce bureaucratic hurdles, enabling patients to access life-changing trials and therapies more quickly.
- Backing British manufacturing: Up to £520 million will support new manufacturing projects, boosting high-skilled jobs and strengthening the domestic supply chain for medicines and devices.
- Streamlining regulation: Additional investment in the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will simplify approval processes, ensuring innovative treatments reach patients more quickly.
- Tech adoption in the NHS: A new NHS ‘passport’ system will expedite the implementation of proven technologies, such as AI-driven cancer diagnostics and wearable health monitors, across the healthcare service.
- Supporting UK firms to scale: High-growth life sciences companies will benefit from improved access to funding and strategic industry partnerships, enabling them to stay and grow in the UK.
Building on strong foundations
Over £650 million has been committed to Genomics England, and £354 million to the Our Future Health programme. The government has also invested in a new Health Data Research Service in partnership with Wellcome. These latest commitments are designed to improve early diagnosis, personalise treatments, and embed research more deeply into NHS care.
At the same time, regulatory costs are being reduced by 25%, and efforts are underway better to align the work of the MHRA and NICE, thereby smoothing market access for medical technologies.
The importance of life science
The sector is essential for economic potential and also plays a role in improving public health, one of the key levers for boosting workforce participation and productivity. With 17% of all UK business R&D spend concentrated in pharmaceuticals, the industry remains one of the most innovation-intensive in the country.
The UK also ranks third globally for life sciences equity investment, after the US and China. Medicines and medical technologies were the UK’s third-largest goods export in 2024, underlining the country’s global strength in this field.
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said:
“The life sciences sector is one of the crown jewels of the UK economy. It sits at the heart of both our Plan for Change, and our Modern Industrial strategy, as a unique catalyst for both economic prosperity, and better health outcomes for people across the UK.
“Moving in lockstep with industry, academia and our NHS, we will unleash this sector as a force for good and for growth.”
Artificial Intelligence is also reshaping the landscape, with applications across drug discovery, diagnostics, and manufacturing. AI could generate up to $110 billion annually for the pharmaceutical and medical-product industries globally, demonstrating the transformative economic potential of tech-led health innovation.
