In the first of our new Thought Leadership series, Alex McLaughlin, Deputy Director for Innovation and Growth with the Office For Life Sciences, discusses ‘Delivering for Northern Ireland: what the Life Sciences Sector Plan, Industrial Strategy and 10 Year Health Plan for England mean for life sciences and health.’
Alex is no stranger to NI, and joined us earlier this year at the HIRANI Health Tech Spring Conference. Alex is also involved with our NI Health Tech Leaders forum lending his expertise and overview.
“This year has been critical for health and life sciences policy in the UK. With the publication of the Life Sciences Sector Plan (LSSP), the Industrial Strategy, the 10 Year Health Plan for England, and the Health and Social Care Reset Plan for Northern Ireland, there is now a coherent, long-term framework that links growth and health outcomes in a way not seen before. For Northern Ireland, that coherence creates a genuine opportunity – but only if it is actively grasped.
Northern Ireland’s life sciences sector already has enviable strengths. From precision medicine and diagnostics to digital health and advanced manufacturing, researchers and companies here are at the forefront of global innovation. The scale of the health and care system, often seen as a constraint, can in fact be a strength: it is small enough to test innovation at population level, agile enough to turn promising ideas into practice, and well-connected across academia, industry and HSCNI. Initiatives such as iREACH, the Belfast Region City Deal projects, and the pharmaceutical base in Craigavon already demonstrate this potential. The challenge is how to build on these foundations in the decade ahead.
The new UK strategies provide a route. The Industrial Strategy identifies life sciences as one of eight priority sectors for national renewal. The LSSP – backed by £2 billion – then sets a ten-year mission to harness UK science and innovation to drive long-term economic growth while building a stronger, prevention-focused health system. The government’s vision is clear: by 2030 the UK will be the leading life sciences economy in Europe, and by 2035 the third most important globally, behind only the US and China.
Crucially, the LSSP distinguishes between actions that are devolved and those that are UK-wide. The LSSP and the 10 Year Health Plan for England both point towards the same fundamental shifts: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, from sickness to prevention. These align closely with Northern Ireland’s Health and Social Care Reset Plan, which charts a path for stabilisation, reform and delivery. UK-wide reforms in R&D, data, investment and regulation do not duplicate this local effort; they complement it, providing the economic conditions that make health service reform possible.
The LSSP sets out an ambitious UK-wide offer. Take clinical trials. The UK Government has committed to cutting commercial trial set-up times to fewer than 150 days, supported by a new national performance scorecard. For research teams in Belfast or Derry – Londonderry, this means fewer bureaucratic hurdles, faster site activation, and a stronger proposition for global sponsors. In practice, it could translate into more commercial trials locating in Northern Ireland and more patients gaining early access to innovative therapies.
Health data is another example. The creation of a new Health Data Research Service will unite genomic, diagnostic and clinical data at population scale, creating one of the world’s most advanced AI-ready ecosystems. While health delivery is devolved, the ability of Northern Ireland’s universities and SMEs to participate in this platform is significant. It will strengthen competitiveness in attracting inward investment, expand capacity for data-rich clinical studies, and enable deeper international collaboration.
The financial environment is shifting as well. Through the British Business Bank, £4 billion of new growth capital is being channelled into the Industrial Strategy’s priority sectors, with life sciences a key focus. For high-growth firms in Northern Ireland, this increases access to scale-up finance that in the past might have required turning to overseas investors. Similarly, the £520 million Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund is designed to attract globally mobile projects. With a strong pharmaceutical and MedTech base, Northern Ireland is well-placed to compete for this investment, bringing jobs, resilience, and long-term economic value.
Regulation and trade are being reshaped. The MHRA is being resourced to become faster and more agile, with reforms designed to make approvals quicker, more predictable and internationally recognised. For companies in Northern Ireland developing AI-enabled products or exporting to global markets, the reputation of the MHRA remains a powerful asset. Meanwhile, UK Export Finance is expanding its support for life sciences SMEs, and the UK Government has committed to securing at least one major strategic industry partnership each year. These measures directly influence the prospects of Northern Irish exporters and innovators.
Delivery, however, is what will matter. Past plans have been criticised for ambition without execution. The LSSP is structured differently: every action has a named Senior Responsible Owner, clear metrics, and annual implementation updates. This creates transparency and accountability: if trial times are not falling, if capital is not flowing, or if manufacturing projects are not landing, progress will be visible.
There are challenges the Plan cannot resolve. Potential US tariffs, global supply chain volatility, and the unresolved issues around the VPAG medicines pricing scheme remain risks. But the LSSP has been designed to be flexible, with the ability to adapt as circumstances change.
What is needed now is partnership. The LSSP was co-developed with colleagues in Health and Social Care Northern Ireland, DBT officials in the region, and through direct engagement with business. It must now be co-delivered in the same way. The UK Government can set direction, but delivery in Northern Ireland will only succeed if industry, academia, clinicians and devolved institutions are fully engaged.
If this opportunity is taken, the rewards will be significant: a stronger economy built on high-value jobs and inward investment; faster access for patients to innovative treatments and diagnostics; a health system that is more sustainable, digitally enabled and focused on prevention; and a Northern Ireland that is not only part of the UK life sciences story, but shaping it.”
