[Ip-health] UK Govt creates life sciences marketing unit headed by AstraZeneca

[Michelle Childs]

http://www.apmhealtheurope.com/story.php?numero=3D11049

LONDON, April 7 (APM) - The UK government is to create a life sciences
marketing strategy unit, headed by AstraZeneca chairman Chris
Brinsmead, in order to more accurately target export markets and
attract inward investment to the UK, reports The Sunday Times Business
section (P3).

The UK Life Science Marketing Strategy Implementation Board will also
feature other key members of the pharmaceutical community on its
board. These include the head of Eli Lilly in the UK, Andrew
Hotchkiss, the CEO of biotech company Renovo, Mark Ferguson, and the
former chairman of Avecia, Kevin Cox.

The move is part of the British government's plan to promote five key
aspects of the British economy, one of which is the life sciences
sector.

International sales for pharmaceutical companies were worth over 12
billion pounds (15 billion euros) in 2006 whilst the healthcare
products and services industries accounted for more than 14 billion
pounds (17.75 billion euros) of exports.

The creation of the unit comes at a difficult time for large
pharmaceutical firms as it is becoming more difficult to bring drugs
to market, partly due to more stringent regulation, whilst at the same
time many blockbuster drugs are coming off patent. As a result, many
large drugs companies are currently re-thinking research and
development and investment strategies whilst keeping a close eye on
costs.


Michelle Childs
Head of European Affairs
Knowledge Ecology International
michelle.childs@cptech.org

"The world we have made, as a result of the level of thinking we have
done thus far, creates problems we cannot solve at the same level of
thinking at which we created them=94 Albert Einstein