The Autumn Budget: What it means for UK life sciences

Its details were leaked mere minutes before Rachel Reeves was to deliver her speech. But, that debacle aside, as expected, the UK government’s Autumn Budget had its sights on high earners, homeowners, and professionals across the country.

As the bad news was processed, responses from life sciences and connected industries rolled in.

Investment is attracted by stability

The Autumn Budget, with its £26 billion tax rise by 2029-30, will “drive an exodus of wealth from Britain,” warned Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group – one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations. The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) papers confirm a multi-year freeze on income tax thresholds through to 2030-31.

“For advisers working with internationally-mobile clients, the trajectory is unmistakable,” said Green. “This is precisely the type of structural change that triggers relocation planning. Wealth moves where governments show stability over decades, not sudden extractions.”

“People with worldwide opportunities compare the UK’s choices with alternatives elsewhere,” he continued. “They see higher taxes without the growth to justify them. They see a government relying on extraction, rather than expansion. They see policy changes arriving through leaks, rather than discipline. This accelerates decisions to relocate assets, careers, retirements, and families.”

Of course, when wealth leaves, investment follows.

“The UK’s long-term growth rate depends on retaining individuals and businesses that can deploy capital quickly and at scale,” said Green. “A Budget built on threshold freezes, property levies, pension tax raids, and historic tax burdens sends the opposite signal. That is how a wealth exodus from Britain begins. It will not be loud at first. It will be systematic, rational, and global.”

Globally competitive science assailed by geographic setting

Assessing the Budget ahead of Reeves’ speech today, Steve Sanghera, CEO & co-founder of Inventus – a company that provides bespoke tech solutions for clinical trials – stuck to his convictions about the essential competitiveness of UK life sciences, but noted that there is much that could be done to improve matters for the sector here.

“The UK is a global leader in the life sciences space, but it is not without issues,” said Sanghera. “Operational complexity, slow study start-up, and site capacity constraints continue to impact delivery. A coordinated national push toward digital, hybrid, and decentralised clinical trials, supported by stable policy, digital infrastructure, and workforce investment, would improve speed, access, and competitiveness.”

Yet, as deVere’s Green noted, such stability to attract investment is sorely lacking from this Budget.

“R&D tax relief remains valuable, but needs greater stability and clarity,” explained Sanghera. “In order to achieve this, government needs to focus on providing a commitment to create a stable, multi-year framework with clear eligibility rules for digital health and trial-operations innovation. Included within this should be decentralised/hybrid trial technologies, workflows, and NHS system integrations as qualifying R&D.”

“UK backing for research and development via tax breaks and other forms of assistance stands at just 2.6% of GDP, a figure which is small compared to other countries,” he added. “America supports Silicon Valley by spending 3.6% of GDP on R&D. Israel spends 6% plus. More could be done to support SMEs by offering advanced assurance and faster processing. And finally, I do believe there is merit in providing enhanced relief for R&D developed with NHS partners or supporting UK trial infrastructure.”

“When it comes to life sciences and the Autumn Budget, I would expect the government to prioritise national digital research infrastructure: eConsent, telehealth, remote monitoring, interoperable data flows, and NHS App integration,” commented Sanghera.

Certainly, the UK is known for being great for pilots, but not so much for later-stage clinical trials.

“There is much the government can do to stem the decline in UK clinical trials,” Sanghera said. “A priority should be mandated, monitored study start-up targets with national performance reporting. It would also be good to look at clear guidance and governance for hybrid/virtual trial models, making remote assessments standard practice […] Long-term clarity on NHS data access models for research and commercial trials should also be looked at.”

“The government now needs to focus on embedding remote visits and digital endpoints in regulatory and NIHR guidance,” he continued. “Encourage protocols that reduce visit burden and improve access for underserved groups. Invest in national recruitment tools integrated with primary care and the NHS App. Scale shared digital trial-operations platforms to reduce duplication across Trusts and sponsors.”

The Chancellor continued to deliver the Autumn Budget as this article went to press.