OBN Welcomes Life Sciences Sector Plan
Abingdon, UK – 16 July 2025. OBN, the not-for-profit membership network that is catalysing growth across the life sciences industry, welcomes the UK Government’s renewed commitment to life sciences as a central pillar of the national Industrial Strategy through the publishing of today’s Life Sciences Sector Plan.
The Plan recognises that the Life Sciences sector, earmarked as one of the eight growth-driving sectors in the Industrial Strategy, is a national asset, contributing to job creation, investment, and innovation and is poised to deliver over £40bn in growth by 2035.
OBN supports the plan’s clear focus on strengthening early-stage innovation, improving access to capital, and encouraging deeper collaboration between public and private stakeholders, all critical levers for supporting the UK’s dynamic R&D ecosystem.
A recent OBN survey of UK life science leaders showed that their biggest unmet need is access to capital, with securing investment, securing grants & non-dilutive funding and recovering R&D tax credits as their top three (of 16) business priorities.
Stuart Rose, CEO of OBN, commented:
“Innovation and the UK are synonymous in life sciences sector leadership. We know from our recent leadership survey that the single biggest challenge for R&D SMEs however is their ability to scale because they cannot access the capital they so urgently need.
The Life Science Sector Plan rightly addresses this need through improved funding via the British Business Bank and reducing the reliance on international (particularly US) capital. The Mansion House Accord’s plan to unlock domestic pension funds for unlisted businesses is also critical. If these plans deliver, then the UK can reach the Government’s targets of being the leading R&D country in Europe by 2030 and #3 globally by 2035.”
About OBN
OBN is a not-for-profit membership organisation dedicated to catalysing success in life sciences. With a growing network of 530 members, OBN provides sector-specific networking, partnering, purchasing support, and opportunities to meet, learn, and grow with a particular focus on early-stage UK life science SMEs.
To find out more about how OBN can support your growth, visit www.obn.org.uk.
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Contact Information
Sophie Beech – Marketing and Communications Manager – communications@obn.org.uk
Stuart Rose – CEO – info@obn.org.uk
