Rob Winder

During the last election, I think the industry spent so much time distracted by the IRA and its potential impact on drug pricing that it missed the threats to the FDA and to scientific research and the potential imposition of tarrifs.

This is not good for the sector or for the health of patients.

While the issue in the UK is, yet another, government that really does not understand the connection between investment and uptake of medicines, I feel the issue in the US may be self-inflicted.

In ‘biotech winter,’ Boston startups, jobs, and science are being swept away - The Boston Globe Local companies have shut down or scaled back in the industry’s decline, threatening scientific progress on cancer, autoimmune disorders, and other diseases.

Over the last week there has been a lot written about the challenges faced by the life sciences sector in the UK. It appears there is a wider malaise as the @bostonglobe.com reports there are challenges in Boston too.

This is not good at all.

If the UK government really wants to support the life sciences it needs to encourage investment here, not discourage it.

There have been at least seven government strategies for life sciences this century, it is time a government actually put one into action.

Why is AI struggling to discover new drugs? A generation of start-ups have failed to live up to the hype. Executives are now betting that more powerful tools will crack the complexities of human biology

Biology is not easy, by @hannahkuchler.bsky.social and @melissahei.bsky.social

And none of those in between are duds.

This is not a "UK problem". The global biopharma industry has been built on M&A.

If a company can be acquired for £46bn, as was the case with Shire, then any company can.

What is important is that investors in companies being acquired make a sufficient return to want to invest in biotech again.

However, one area that I think will be impossible is to "build bigger, better British biotechs and keep them here, rather than them being sold to multinationals".

The UK needs to pick up the pace on life sciences Focusing relentlessly on low drug costs is the wrong approach

Kate Bingham's thoughts on the UK government's life sciences strategy are worth reading.

The uptake of innovative products is essential if the Office for Life Sciences really wants to be successful in surpassing its goals.

New Executive Chair to strengthen government’s plan to unleash life sciences for a healthier, wealthier Britain Steve Bates OBE appointed to help champion research and innovation and the use of technology to transform health and grow the UK economy.

Congratulations to Steve Bates on his appointment as executive chair at the Office for Life Sciences.

Make that 40. First max score on Pointed.

It's always nice to see good news when you wake up. Congrats to the #moversandshakers team.

A debate is only the first step, genuine action needs to be taken to help people get access to neurologists to enable early diagnosis.

I'm not surprised that the trade associations are not particularly positive in their responses to this report.

There have been several similar ones since the turn of the century and successive govenments have always promised a lot and delivered only a fraction.

I hope it is different this time.

Life Sciences Sector Plan The Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out a vision and an action plan to drive growth, innovation, and better health outcomes.

The overarching ambition of the Life Sciences Sector Plan is admirable.

However, I feel it is lacking detail.

Additionally, there is a need to couple developing an innovative industry with the uptake of innovative products in the NHS. That appears to be missing.

On the AI theme, @parmy.bsky.social's "Supremacy"

I would agree on the prose. However, I think the recent iterations of some of the GPT systems have significantly improved prose compared with the output a few months ago, which will make recruitment for roles that require writing more difficult.

How do you separate the genuine writers from the AI-generated submissions? We found that significant numbers of our applicants last year used AI to generate work and in some cases CVs, and when candidates got to an assessment centre the quality of writing was much lower than seen in recent years

Need to be careful when comparing prices from one country to another. Industry talks about list prices (what they'd like to be paid) vs negotiated prices. I recall the US list price of some of the HCV drugs was 3x the negotiated price in EU, which in turn was higher than average price paid in US.

This was my favourite science road graffiti. From the 2020 Il Lombardia.

That is a sweet version of what maybe my favourite song of theirs.

Hitting the nail on the head...

We also noticed that the standard of writing in our assessment centre exercises left a lot to be desired.

This thread reflects my experience with our early talent recruitment this year. Many candidates using the same AI-generated phrases in their applications, and we saw some reading AI-drafted responses in real time in online interviews. AI is making recruitment much more challenging.

Lisa is correct here.

Won't be holding my breath waiting for them to speak up though.

"Bluesky - AlphaMotorHomes - DeCeuster - Corendon" 😉

Petition: Increase funding for people with Parkinson’s and implement the "Parky Charter" We want the government to take the decisive five steps set out in the Movers and Shakers' "Parky Charter" and to fulfil the Health Secretary’s promises.

if you are in the UK, please take a minute to sign the #parkycharter petition

Pharma CEOS Speaking Up, Damn It

Pharma CEOS Speaking Up, Damn It | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/blog...

It is easy to improve punctuality when the timetable is changed to accommodate lateness. Now timtabled for 10 minutes longer for Southampton to Waterloo journey than in 2000.

The inside story of Britain’s failure to clinch £450mn AstraZeneca deal [FREE TO READ] How an agreement set up by the Tories and lauded by Labour fell victim to cost-cutting and UK curbs on drugs expenditure

Interesting from the @financialtimes.com. Sadly for the UK and the pharmaceutical industry, nobody comes out of this looking good.

Including the launch of a London office by mid-year