ROYAL SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY POLICY UPDATE - JULY

31st Jul 2017

As a Society Member of the RSB, the BNA is able to represent its members in the larger bioscience community. We are also able to pass on benefits such as news items (e.g. as below) and reduced individual membership rates to join RSB.

The Royal Society of Biology policy update for July 2017 is now available.

News

Council looks to slash Horizon 2020 budget

The European Council is seeking enormous cuts to the 2018 EU budget proposed by the European Commission, including taking almost half a billion euros from Horizon 2020. The full article can be found online.

Government announces £86m for innovative medicines

James O'Shaughnessy, a junior health minister, announced the funding and promised to protect the life sciences during Brexit.. The full article can be found online.

Life expectancy rises 'grinding to halt'

Rising rates of life expectancy are grinding to a halt in England after more than 100 years of continuous progress, says a leading health expert. The full article can be found online.

“Let's bridge the divide between academic and technical education” Dave Phoenix, Vice-chancellor of London South Bank University

Universities’ widening participation efforts tend to ignore further education. But FE students are the untapped resource we need to plug skills shortages. The full article can be found online.

What do universities need to prevent a Brexodus?

EU nationals form a huge part of the teaching, research and student communities at British universities. In the Russell Group alone there are 25,000 EU staff and over 60,000 EU students. The full article can be found online.

CEO Update: Monday 17 July 2017, By BioIndustry Association

July is proving a busy month for the industry so far. Last week, the BIA was one of the signatories of an industry letter from UK and European bioscience trade bodies (AESGP, EFPIA, EuropaBio, Medicines for Europe, ABPI, BGMA, BIA and PAGB) to David Davis, UK Brexit Secretary and Michel Barnier, Chief EU Negotiator. The letter highlighted the importance of securing ongoing co-operation between the UK and the EU on medicines post-Brexit. The full article can be found online.

Why we need scientists on Charlie Gard

The full article can be found online.

Universities told to stop hyping research findings

Exaggerated claims risk ruining public trust in medical research. The full article can be found online.