The British In Vitro Diagnostics Association is calling for investment in key enablers that support the UK diagnostic sector’s capacity to tackle care backlogs, drive innovation and prepare for potential future pandemics.
Building a diagnostics sector that is pandemic-ready and can protect the UK’s healthcare needs requires stronger UK manufacturing, innovation, a highly skilled workforce and training for companies becoming more sustainable. BIVDA has addressed key needs for the sector that will support the role played by the IVD sector in population health and biosecurity.
Focusing on both short- and long-term funding decisions, these are some of the points contained in the BIVDA submission:
- Long term investment in scalable advanced manufacturing and a consolidated testing strategy will utilise the manufacturing capacity of the UK as we emerge from the pandemic, create high value jobs, realise our export potential and encourage global companies to invest resources into the UK.
- IVDs inform around 70% of clinical decisions, yet they receive less than 1% of the total NHS budget; this needs to change to realise the desire to have better health through prevention and early diagnosis while supporting public health against the threat of infectious disease and antimicrobial resistance.
- Investment is required in the institutions enabling world-leading innovation and manufacturing for resource and capacity such as NIHR, NICE, MHRA, Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) and Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) is required to increase capability to fast track IVD products from UK companies.
- The government should invest in an R&D workforce with a range of different skills, experiences and training, drawing on the contribution of individuals from diverse backgrounds. Training to create a highly skilled workforce will enable the realisation of our previously stated points (a stronger UK base, innovation, early diagnosis, IVD uptake).
- We have also called for the appointment of a National Clinical Director for Diagnostics to oversee all aspects of the IVD industry, from innovation to procurement, including academia, private sector and industry engagement.