Can Britain’s life sciences sector thrive after Brexit?

The Spectator, in association with MSD, brought together MPs and representatives from Life Sciences on 20^th March, to discuss the future of Life Sciences after Brexit. Can the UK life sciences sector thrive after Brexit and what needs to be done in order to ensure that it does? This is a report of the discussion which followed:

Of all the industries that the Government has been keen to reassure since the Brexit vote, the life sciences sector comes out near the top. It’s no wonder: Britain is one of the best places in the world for life sciences, thanks in part to the five world-leading universities clustered around Oxford, Cambridge and London. It leads the way in emerging fields such as genomics. But the sector receives considerable funding from the European Union and relies on the kind of cross-border collaboration made easier because of Britain’s EU membership. So what is its future after Britain’s departure? That is the question that politicians, policy experts, academics and industry representatives discussed at a lunch at the Spectator offices last month, sponsored by the pharmaceutical company MSD.