Campaign Countdown For Voices Of Industry

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 23 Jun 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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The UK's life sciences companies have just two days remaining to tell the Government what it can do to help them succeed, as medical and healthcare industry specialist MedilinkWM brings its Voices of Industry Campaign to fruition.

Designed to give companies in the Life Sciences sector a united voice and combined influence, the Voices of Industry Campaign is gathering views and ideas from a wide range of SMEs, business leaders, agencies, academics and NHS staff. A significant proposal of crucial initiatives that the Government can implement to make an immediate impact on the prosperity of the sector will be delivered to the Office of Life Sciences (OLS) on Tuesday 30 June.

Headed up by Lord Drayson, the OLS has requested a copy of the Campaign's proposal and will review it on behalf of the wider Government, to help it meet the expectations of SMEs. There is even a commitment by the OLS to use the dedicated Voices of Industry website to feedback the progress on the recommendations.

Two months ago, the Government and the Treasury stated that Life Sciences (the combination of medical technologies, healthcare, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology) forms the largest sector within the gross domestic product (GDP) of the UK. Government has recognised Life Sciences as one of the three most important drivers of economic growth in Britain, followed by renewable technologies and the digital economy, to trade our way out of recession.

With this in mind, the OLS has committed to delivering tangible, valuable investment and support for companies within just 12 months and has issued a challenge to industry to discover what steps can be taken to improve access to finance for SMEs and to stimulate investment.

MedilinkWM's CEO Tony Davis has been a driving force in highlighting the needs and demands of industry in his role on committees reporting to the OLS and the Voices of Industry campaign, focused in the West Midlands, is providing practical suggestions to directly solve many of the current issues.

Tony Davis said: "The Government has set us an urgent challenge, so we've responded immediately by asking industry for its views and ideas. We have just two days until our roundtable reviews the suggestions so far and draws up an official proposal for Government - let's make sure they know what SMEs really need to thrive. It's essential that every professional working in this sector looks at what the Government could do to make it easier for them to grow their business and unleash their entrepreneurial flair.

"This sector has the potential to receive an influx of investment to ensure some short-term success stories and positive stories about the economy. I've been working to ensure that SMEs can benefit from this investment and become a strong success story themselves. The Voices of Industry campaign is here to give businesses an influential voice that reflects their combined strength and economic importance. "

The campaign for engagement will be running for two more days and on 24 June leaders of industry will attend a roundtable to scrutinise every idea and suggestion at the Medical Technology Innovation Centre in Edgbaston. Professionals involved in the life sciences sector are invited to participate by logging onto a dedicated micro site at www.MedilinkWM.co.uk/VoicesOfIndustry, where they can respond to topics, register approval, send an email or even upload an audio clip of their thoughts.

Entrepreneur Mick Gordon submitted: "As an inventor, I believe that individuals and businesses should be incentivised to invest in small firms that are developing innovations and inventions by way of serious tax breaks. Although the cut in VAT to 15 per cent was well intentioned, it has had a negligible effect on stimulating the economy, where encouraging the flow of private investment for promising innovations could have a far greater impact."

Chief Executive of the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA), Aisling Burnand commented: "These are particularly tough times for SMEs involved in crucial life sciences research, with viable enterprises still struggling to obtain the follow-on investment they need to be able to grow their businesses into the success stories of the future. Industry needs to send out a clear, united message on how to deal with this problem and get investment moving again."

Philip Needham, managing director for Cardionetics Ltd, posted: "All we want is the NHS to buy from us. Even with all boxes ticked - Government policy, CE marked devices, field proven, saves lives, saves money, easy to use - there is no simple procurement mechanism for innovations. No one is willing to buy anything just to see if it works. Progress comes from being different, not carrying on doing the same old thing. There's still no pull, only lots of SMEs (and others) pushing."

Source
MedilinkWM