UK Edition
UK plc urged to seize 'global opportunity' in genomics
The British biotech sector should seize the “global commercial opportunity” offered by genomics, drug industry leaders urged, as a report from the country’s chief medical officer called for more people to get their DNA tested to aid in the hunt for effective treatments for diseases.
Dame Sally Davies’ report ‘Generation Genome’ said policymakers and businesses should look to transform what she described as Britain’s “cottage industry” in genomics into a world-leading player.
DNA testing from a small sample of blood or saliva can help doctors identify illnesses and specific genetic mutations that can play a big role in the success of treatments. Dame Sally said all cancer patients should get their DNA sequenced.
Drugs industry leaders told The Daily Telegraph that the UK – which led the world in DNA sequencing in the 1950s through the work of pioneering scientists including Frederick Sanger – is still a leading player in the field.
UK genomics companies include Oxford Nanopore, which is developing handheld DNA readers and has had its technology used in the International Space Station, Eagle Genomics and Congenica are working on cheaper and more effective sequencing to bring down the cost from around £680 a go today.
But analysts warn the UK risks falling behind the States in this fast-developing field, noting the US boasts larger, more-established companies such as Foundation Medicine, Quest, Labforce and Grail.
Steve Bates, chief executive of the UK BioIndustry Association, said: “The commercial opportunity for companies in this space is not just in the UK, it’s global.
“If the UK were to lead the world in this type of medicine that would give us a fantastic domestic market from which to rapidly build overseas.”
However Julie Simmonds, pharmaceuticals analyst at Panmure, cautioned that the UK genomics market lacked the maturity of the US and said British firms would likely face a reluctance around the NHS sharing science and patient data with the commercial sector.
“Yes there’s a commercial opportunity but it comes down to are you willing to outsource from the NHS, as they do in the US,” she said. “There’s a big opportunity but we’re not quite there yet.”
A spokesperson for Woodford Investment Management, the fund led by star investor Neil Woodford, said genomics was a part of the draw for them in investing in healthcare: "It has taken a long time to fully understand and harness the potential of genomics, personalised medicine and the greater insights that scientific breakthroughs give into the nature of disease.
“But the pharma industry is now starting to do so with profound and positive implications for investors and patients alike."
The UK Government has already been investing in genomics though the 100,000 Genomes Project, launched by former prime minister David Cameron, which has sequenced around 70,000 people and helped with treatments for rare diseases.
In separate developments the business secretary Greg Clark and health secretary Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday sought to reassure concerned pharma firms that the UK would aim to collaborate closely with the EU over medicines regulation after Brexit.
The two ministers said an early agreement for the sector was “in the interests of public health and safety” and the Government "will look to continue to work closely” with the EU’s medicine’s regulator the European Medicines Agency, in a letter to The Financial Times.
But they said the UK was ready to establish its own system for regulating the drugs industry if necessary.