Biotech in Burnham’s Britain

As Andy Burnham measures up the curtains in 10 Downing Street, U.K. biotech is taking stock of what his premiership will mean for the sector. Extremes are unlikely — his policies won’t be overtly terrible or fantastic for life sciences, but there are many decisions that will have second- or third-order consequences that could swing the sector either way.

Overall, there are enough positive signals to see a path for the U.K. to continue its acceleration of life sciences and grow its footprint in global biotech. But it will take continued industrial strategy, and a dedication to resolve some of the key bottlenecks, to keep that momentum, let alone see transformational change...