(Bloomberg) -- The UK risks losing ground in life sciences if it doesn’t fix significant problems in the National Health Service, the chief executive officer of Novo Nordisk A/S’s controlling shareholder has warned.
“If you don’t deal with a lot of the issues with the NHS, the UK will lose some of its leadership position as a life science powerhouse,” said Novo Holding A/S CEO Kasim Kutay in an interview with Bloomberg TV. Novo Holdings is the largest shareholder of Novo Nordisk, maker of diabetes treatment Ozempic and weight-loss drug Wegovy.
Kutay’s comments echo remarks made by AstraZeneca Plc chief executive Pascal Soriot, who warned in July that pharmaceutical companies won’t invest in Britain if the country doesn’t improve access to innovative new drugs.
While Kutay said it was “terrific” that the new Labour government was focused on life sciences, he warned that the problems within the NHS, which include a waiting list in excess of 7 million appointments and a damning financial position for many hospitals, risked damaging the industry.
The UK’s leadership position on clinical trials, for example, “has eroded,” said Kutay. That’s a result of the NHS being stretched and “an inability to work with industry in order to conduct clinical trials,” he said.
The regulator that approves clinical trials in Britain, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, has been beset with delays in approving the start of new trials post Brexit, with staffing challenges being blamed for some of the problems. There has been improvement in recent months but the industry wants further work to be done to ensure the UK remains an attractive place for trials.
--With assistance from Francine Lacqua.
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