Chris Brinsmead, AstraZeneca Chairman, Appointed Life Sciences Business Advisor in the UK, Focus Reports
Release Date: 2010-11-26
Chris Brinsmead, the chairman of global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, has been appointed the Life Sciences Business Advisor to the UK. The post is a position that bridges the Department of Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS), and the Department of Health (DOH)—two agencies with sometimes antithetical aspirations, as the former seeks to promote and facilitate the success and expansion of business (including, of course, pharmaceutical business), and the other seeks to provide quality, affordable healthcare for the population in the face of corporate attempts at profiteering. Brinsmead’s appointment was announced in a joint statement made by Lord Howe, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the DOH (colloquially dubbed the ‘Minister of Health’), and David Willets, the Minister of State for Universities and Sciences in the BIS. In his address, Howe stated, “We want to maximize the relationship between the NHS and the life sciences sector, and I warmly welcome the appointment of Chris Brinsmead in his vitally important role to support us in achieving this.” Willets hoped that Brinsmead would aid the government in taking a “coordinated approach to policy making.”In speaking of the future of the sector, Willets emphasized that “there is real potential for the industry to contribute to the future economic growth of the UK, as well as meet healthcare challenges,” while Howe emphatically called it “key to the state’s future health and future prosperity.” Life sciences has, to date, seen significant success in the UK: while it represents 3% of the global pharma market, it attracts 10% of the R&D projects in the industry. Five of the top 20 medicines in the world have been discovered and developed by UK innovators. Brinsmead’s specific duties will include promoting collaboration between relevant government agencies, academic circles, and industry leaders; he will support and commune legislative endeavors that benefit the involved parties; and he will promote the growth of business in the sector, both locally and through encouraging external investment and trade. Brinsmead will hold his appointment for a period of at least 12 months. Until this year, he was the President of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, a trade organization whose members represent both large and small players operating in the pharmaceutical sector. Of his new duties, he stated, “I am delighted to take on this role, and to support the Government in realizing the opportunities that exist in this sector."
| Type: | NORMAL |
| Company: | Focus Reports |
| Country: | 瑞士 |