6/07/2022 | BlogPost
The post-Covid New Normal: a golden opportunity for the NHS?
Paul Tunnah | Chief Content Officer & Managing Director
I recently had the pleasure of attending the PING Conference 2022, which had the tagline of ‘The Golden Age for Life Sciences Innovation’. In part, this was due to it being held at The Old Palace at Hatfield House, a location steeped in history and formerly the residence of Queen Elizabeth I, with whom ‘a golden age’ is often associated.
However, it also reflected the optimistic tone of the event, organised by VWV, which aimed to present some rays of light for the future as we (hopefully) emerge from the COVID pandemic.
Aspirations for the UK in life sciences
George Freeman, minister for science, research and innovation at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, opened proceedings by reminding us of some of the UK’s recent achievements and aspirations for the future.
Notable highlights include the central role the UK has played in the field of genomics, with over 500 thousand patients now in the biobank, and the recent RECOVERY trial – the world’s largest clinical trial into treatments for Covid-19, with more than 40,000 participants across 185 trial sites in the UK.
But it is clear there is still much to do, and Freeman reminded us of the billions being invested into UK life sciences to drive three imperatives:
- Faster access to patients for research
- Faster access for patients for interventions
- Data on all aspects, including stratification of patient types
Within those, two things are critical for him: helping NICE become the “world class benchmark agency for HTA”, and a focus on ‘disease missions’ that bring together digital technology with the NHS’s network.
Read the full article at pharmaphorum.com
Dr Paul Tunnah is Chief Content Officer and Managing Director for Healthware Group. He founded the industry-leading publication, pharmaphorum, in 2009, and he is a recognised author, speaker, moderator and industry advisor.
