Rishi Sunak has vowed to make the UK a “science and technology superpower”, following in the footsteps of prime ministers including David Cameron, who called life sciences the “jewel in the crown” of our economy. But Britain’s pivot away from Europe has cast a shadow, and raises questions for national champions such as AstraZeneca, the country’s largest drugmaker, which reports third-quarter results this week.
One of the more damaging upsets from Brexit was the ejection of UK research scientists from the EU’s Horizon funding programme. In August, Sunak promised a “better UK alternative”, and to “cut the amount of time it takes for new medicines to become available to the NHS”.
