The first year of the government's Life Sciences Sector Plan has helped to attract £3billion of investment, deliver new medicines and cut waiting times for the approval of life-saving treatments.
This is helping to give patients access to new treatments like the world’s first-ever immunotherapy for type 1 diabetes, which was recently approved for use by the NHS in England and Wales.
Overall, the average wait time to set up clinical trials has dropped from 169 to 122 days in the first half of 2025 to 2026.
AstraZeneca has invested £300 million to support its operations in its Cambridge headquarters. Moderna has opened its new innovation centre in Harwell with a £1 billion UK R&D investment commitment over the next 10 years.
The data comes from the first annual implementation update on the Life Sciences Sector Plan, which sets out the government’s progress against its goals for the sector. This includes an ambition for the UK to become the third largest life sciences economy in the world by 2035.
Science, Innovation, and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: "In its first year, our Life Sciences Sector Plan is delivering cutting-edge treatments to tackle cancer, new opportunities for British businesses to start up and grow, and well-paid jobs that improve lives for families. A thriving life sciences sector is good for NHS patients and good for economic growth across the UK.
"People in every part of the country are already starting to see the benefits of our Plan – up to 66,000 jobs ready to be unlocked, slashed waiting times for clinical trials, and new medicines being rolled out to patients. When our life sciences sector succeeds, it improves all of our lives."
James Murray, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said: "In the year since we launched our Life Sciences Sector Plan, this government has brought in £3 billion to speed up access to innovative treatments and transform the experience of patients. We also smashed our 150-day target for clinical trial set-up, slashing red tape to get those trials up and running at the speed patients deserve.
"By bringing together the brilliance of British science with the power of our NHS, we’re not just improving healthcare outcomes – we’re also building a stronger economy and creating jobs across the country."
