International Trade Secretary, MP, will set out his vision
for increased trade between the UK and the US in the
fast-growing life sciences sector tonight (Tuesday 19 June)
in front of an audience of large scale investors.
Speaking to members of the American Pharmaceutical Group
(APG)
and representatives from the US Embassy at the Churchill
War Rooms, Dr Fox will set out the UK’s world leading
research and development capability which enables British
businesses and universities to export their goods and
services around the globe.
The Secretary of State will highlight:
- opportunity for UK SMEs: there is great
potential for UK SMEs specialising in
the likes of biotech R&D to secure
substantial deals with US pharma companies to export their
cutting-edge products and expand their UK operations
- jobs: the APG is made up
of 10 of the largest US life science investors in the UK,
who together support more than 14,000 UK jobs
- exports: the UK’s exported £6 billion worth of
pharmaceutical products to the US last year – demonstrating
the clear demand for British innovation
The Secretary of State will call for collaboration between
the UK and the US to push the boundaries of science in key
areas such as cancer treatment, early diagnosis of disease
and realising the potential of AI in a healthcare
setting. He will also set out how the UK is committed to
the continued growth of the sector by highlighting measures
such as the £20 million in funding the government has
pledged to the joint UK-US CARB-X project to address the
global rise of antimicrobial resistance.
As well as calling for joint working in the life sciences
sector, Dr Fox will stress that the UK’s departure from the
European Union offers an unprecedented opportunity to build
on our already strong trading relationship with the US,
including through a potential future Free Trading
Agreement.
International Trade Secretary, MP, said:
The UK and US already has strong ties in the life
sciences sector with our world leading innovation helping
American companies improve the lives of billions of
people around the globe.
As an international economic department, I want us to go
further and see even more British businesses making the
most of the opportunities presented by this relationship,
not just in this sector, as we look to deepen our trading
ties with the US after we leave the European Union.
The event comes as the latest statistics from the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
show that health and life sciences are worth over £70
billion to the economy and provide jobs for almost 241,000
people across the country.
The recent launch of the government’s Industrial
Strategy Life Sciences Sector
Deal, demonstrates how the government will support the
sector to develop and launch the next generation of
medicines, technologies and diagnostics and provide better
care and treatments for millions of patients.
The Minister for Trade and Export Promotion, , travelled in
June to Bio Conference
2018 in Boston with a strong delegation of UK
businesses. Whilst at the conference, the Minister
emphasised the strength of the sector in Britain as the UK
pavilion was designed around a theme of being ‘the home of
healthcare’.
Total trade in goods and services (i.e. exports plus
imports) between the UK and US stood at more than £180
billion in 2017, an 8% increase over 2016.
