The UK government recently unveiled its 10-year Life Sciences Sector Plan, putting forward a comprehensive strategy for transforming the UK into a global leader in life sciences by 2035. This LawFlash outlines key areas of focus, providing practical advice and strategies for in-house legal and compliance teams to prepare for the implementation of the plan and benefit from these new opportunities.
The strategic vision of the UK government for the life sciences industry as set out in its 10-year Life Sciences Sector Plan (the Plan) is to harness the UK’s scientific strengths and transform them into economic and health benefits. The Plan’s aim is for the UK to be the leading life sciences economy in Europe by 2030 and the third most important life sciences economy globally (behind the US and China) by 2035.
The Plan is structured around three core pillars: (1) enabling world-class research and development (R&D); (2) making the UK an outstanding place to start, grow, scale, and invest; and (3) driving health innovation and National Health Service reform. The Plan emphasizes the importance of collaboration between government, industry, and academia.
In parallel with the Plan, the UK government amended the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) in June 2025 to reduce certain key “pain points” for the UK life sciences sector with respect to personal data protection matters.
The UK government states in the Plan that it is committed to removing regulatory hurdles through upcoming reforms. This includes supporting the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to become a faster, more agile regulator and developing a streamlined route to market through joint advice and parallel approvals with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), together with international reliance and recognition for medicines and medical devices, in order for patients to benefit sooner from cutting edge innovation.
Additionally, the UK government has set the goal that by March 2026, the set-up time for commercial interventional clinical trials will be reduced to fewer than 150 days.
In-house legal teams will need to monitor and respond to regulatory changes and ensure that their organizations are prepared to implement new compliance requirements. This involves understanding and advising on the implications of regulatory reforms to expedite the approval process for new products and maintain a competitive edge.
The Plan highlights the importance of protecting innovations and maintaining the UK’s balanced and internationally renowned intellectual property (IP) standards while supporting large-scale R&D investments. For early-stage R&D, the UK government aims to support IP-rich small and medium–sized enterprises through improved access to IP-backed finance and international advocacy for high IP standards. Businesses engaged in early-stage research will need to ensure that their IP portfolio is robust to capitalise on such opportunities.
The Plan’s focus on leveraging genomic and other healthcare data, using artificial intelligence (AI), and on collaboration also recognises the importance and value of broader ways of protecting innovation through IP other than patents, such as confidential information, trade secrets, database rights, and contractual rights to use and access data. In-house IP and legal teams should work together to ensure that such rights are appropriately addressed in existing and new agreements.
The Plan also indicates a desire for the UK government to continue to support generic and biosimilar companies, with the goal of the UK becoming a world leader in the uptake of off-patent medicines. The UK government anticipates that this would be beneficial to the industry as a whole but could indicate that legislative moves to strengthen incentives such as regulatory exclusivities and SPCs will not be a priority.
It will be important for in-house IP teams to continue to monitor developments in this area, particularly alongside the EU’s pharma reform package and how the position of the UK’s life sciences industry compares to its continental neighbours.
The UK government recognises the importance of the life science sector for the growing the UK economy. The Plan’s life sciences sector overview notes that the UK life sciences industry generated £108.1 billion in turnover in 2021–2022, a 13% increase from the previous year, with notable growth recorded since 2014–2015.
The Plan encourages partnerships between government and industry to drive growth and innovation. These partnerships could provide access to new markets, technologies, and funding opportunities, enhancing a company’s competitive position. The UK government will seek to secure at least one major strategic partnership annually with leading life sciences companies to facilitate significant improvements in health outcomes and economic growth.
The UK government also states that it is committed to helping UK life sciences companies grow and remain headquartered in the UK. A dedicated support service will be in place for 10 to 20 high-potential UK companies, helping them navigate regulatory challenges and gain access to new capital. Strengthening manufacturing capabilities and diversifying sources of key inputs will improve supply chain resilience alongside onshoring critical elements of the life sciences value change.
The Plan also indicates that the UK government will support initiatives to increase access to growth capital and attract foreign direct investment, particularly for series B and in later funding rounds. The UK government will provide up to £520 million in grants, and additional incentives will be put in place to support investments over £250 million; however, further details have yet to be provided.
The Plan mentions a shift in the UK government’s approach to research funding, with an increased focus on prevention.
We expect the Plan’s core aims—unlocking scale-up funding, attracting private capital, and keeping high-growth life-sciences businesses rooted in the UK—to be delivered in part through a pro-growth approach to merger control and potentially to national security screening of merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions in the life sciences sector.
The Plan will be delivered in a manner consistent with the UK government’s commitments on net zero. Therefore, new initiatives will support the sector’s decarbonization efforts and encourage the use of sustainable technologies. Legal teams should ensure compliance with environmental regulations and support the implementation of sustainable practices.
The Plan notes the fundamental importance of the UK life sciences sector having the right skill base to remain competitive, noting the importance of both diversity and attracting global talent for such purposes. Particular attention is drawn to the role that a diverse workforce can play in innovation and economic growth, with reference to the success of programmes such as STEM ReCharge.
The Plan also refers to the role the government can play in ensuring that the training and qualifications offered meet the skills need of the sector and that current skills gaps are addressed which are hampering growth and investment.
Employers in the life sciences sector should consider whether their recruitment processes allow key talent from all backgrounds to access available opportunities to align with the spirit of the Plan. Organisations should also ensure that recruitment processes are not discriminatory in nature and that immigration requirements are complied with when hiring employees from across the world.
Together with The Wellcome Trust, the UK government says that it will commit up to £600 million investment into a Health Data Research Service (HDRS), establishing the world’s most advanced, secure, and AI-ready health data platform. The HDRS would encompass genomic, diagnostic, and clinical data at population scale, which is expected to attract global clinical trials and AI investment. Ensuring the success and safety of the HDRS and the underlying data will require robust cybersecurity measures.
The Plan cites McKinsey Global Institute’s estimate that AI could generate $60–110 billion annually for the pharmaceutical and medical-product industries. With an increased focus on incentivising researchers to leveraging AI to accelerate scientific discovery, it will be important for in-house legal teams to establish legal guidance and respond to the need for quality oversight for the use of AI.
In parallel with the Plan, the UK government has amended the UK GDPR through the recently enacted Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA). The DUAA, while not implementing wholesale amendments of the UK GDPR, has nonetheless focussed on reducing certain key pain points for the UK life sciences sector with respect to personal data protection matters.
Notably, following the DUAA, the UK GDPR now reflects a more permissive approach as to what qualifies as “scientific research,” and makes clear that qualifying activities could either be “commercial or non-commercial activity.” In turn, sponsors of clinical trials in the UK may (for example) be able to obtain valid consent from trial subjects with respect to a broader set of uses of personal data, including in connection with AI-enabled activities.
Moreover, this permissive approach now set out in the UK GDPR itself reflects a notable divergence with positions adopted by regulators in the European Union with respect to the EU General Data Protection Regulation.
The Plan and related statutory amendments in the UK open up exciting developments across the UK life sciences sector. Morgan Lewis will continue to follow legal and regulatory developments in this area.
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