Written question WQ88881

The pharmaceutical industry plays a significant role in the development of the Welsh life sciences sector through job creation; export and international trade; collaboration and partnerships; and Research and Development. In Wales, the life sciences sector (including both biopharma and medtech) employs over 12,000 people and contributes over £2 billion in turnover to the Welsh economy.

Figures from the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) released at the end of last year, demonstrated strong growth in income (up 12.1%) and employment (up 1.9%) for life sciences businesses in Wales. The latest export figures for Wales published around the same time showed significant growth in exports for the life sciences industry, for example pharmaceutical exports were up over 30%.

Alongside the economic benefits, the pharmaceutical industry is a partner in improving health outcomes and health security across all four nations. It supplies cutting edge treatments that can improve and save lives. Welsh Government’s approach to collaboration has been a constant commitment as such partnerships are well recognised as an important route for improving access to the latest trials and therapies that companies develop. Currently, my officials are working closely with representatives from both Moderna and BioNTech, as well as with members of the UK Government team in OLS, to be able to ensure our alignment with advances.

Health and Care Research Wales’ Support and Delivery Centre also continues to work closely with pharmaceutical companies to deliver clinical trial pipelines across portfolios. This work aims to provide the best opportunities for patients to access the most up to date treatments possible in Wales.

However, we do recognise more could be done. A recent report from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) highlighted that patient access to industry research has fallen dramatically in the UK and that there is a need for us to play our part in improving set-up processes for industry clinical trials as well as in leveraging commercial research to boost NHS research capacity and culture. We see this as a real opportunity for Wales to organise itself more effectively and be more agile and responsive in its offer. In Health and Care Research Wales’ three-year plan we made a commitment to address this issue by setting out our industry engagement plans and we are working towards providing a more coherent and high-quality service to industry partners wanting to undertake commercial research in Wales.