UK Biotechs Call For Govt Help To Compete Globally

Susannah Rodgers / Dow Jones Newswires 27apr01

LONDON -- The U.K. government must back biotechnology companies through legislation and funding if they are to retain their presence on the world stage, the U.K. biotechnology industry said Thursday.

The BioIndustry Association, which represents the U.K. biotech sector, called on the government to halt the loss of pharmaceutical manufacturing from the U.K. and to support biotech companies, both those in the early stage and those already listed on stock markets.

A key step in ensuring the biotech sector growth would be a strengthening legislation against animal rights activists, said the BIA in its Manifesto for Biotechnology for 2001 launched Thursday.

Animal rights protests have taken U.K. drug-tester Huntingdon Life Sciences Group PLC (HTDLY) to the brink of bankruptcy in recent months as financial backers pulled out in fear of protest.

The BIA also called for the introduction of a loan scheme matching private investment with government funds, for assurance that patent law won't discriminate against inventions that result from genetic research, and for support to enable universities to continue to supply high quality sciences graduates.

"With the right development of a U.K. skills base for biotechnology, complemented by supportive government policy, we can ensure that the sector will continue to deliver new breakthroughs and grow into an important driver of economic and employment growth for the U.K.," said Paul Drayson, BIA chairman.

The government has said that it fully supports the biotech industry, but has been criticized by some for failing to move beyond minimal funding compared with other countries.

Wednesday, financial advisers Ernst & Young said that European biotechnology companies have the scientific know-how to match U.S. peers, but that regulatory hurdles are preventing them from competing to their full potential.

The U.K. biotech sector retains its lead over European peers in terms of numbers of companies listed, and in terms of biotech products in clinical trials.

But more biotech companies need to manufacture and develop products beyond the early discovery stage, or else "the U.K. sector will disappear," said the BIA.