‘Pioneering’ deal opens up £11bn NHS to Scots life sciences firms

SCOTLAND’S life sciences firms yesterday hailed a “pioneering” breakthrough that will give them the long-awaited access to the NHS’s £11 billion budget that many of them have craved.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon unveiled a “health innovation partnership” under which companies will be told at an earlier stage about what products and services the health service wants to buy.

In return, the NHS will be able to reduce costs and gain access to cutting-edge technologies being developed by biotechnology companies and medical device manufacturers.

Sturgeon told a conference in Glasgow that the deal would help to achieve the Scottish Government’s aim of doubling the economic contribution of life sciences to the Scottish economy by 2020 to £6bn.

She added: “Many of the greatest advances in the history of medicine come from Scotland, and we are already at the forefront in many areas of clinical and health research.

“Continued investment in this area has the potential to lead to ground-breaking medical breakthroughs, which could benefit patients both in Scotland and across the globe.”

Industry figures lined up to welcome the partnership. John Brown, chairman of the Scottish Lifesciences Association trade body, said: “We will play our part in encouraging our 100 member companies to take this opportunity to develop products and services which meet NHS needs for innovation – it is a classic win-win situation.”

Stephen Whitehead, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said: “Scotland is in an excellent position because of its skilled workforce and excellent patient record system to attract investment in research.

“It is very important for the pharmaceutical industry that the Scottish Government should seek to place innovation at the heart of the NHS.”