MARKET PLACE
What is the future for UK health care?
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“Today, approximately 45% of cancer cases are diagnosed at a stage when the cancer can be successfully treated. We believe this figure could be increased to 66% by 2012” said Professor Peter Johnson, Chief Clinician, Cancer Research UK. He continued, “To reach this goal we need to know more about the individuals at most risk of cancer, and work to develop understanding from basic research into methods of screening, diagnosis and treatments.”
His thoughts are published in the Social Market Foundation’s publication, “Sixty Seconds on the Next Sixty Years.” This collated the hopes of a range of stakeholders to mark the 60th anniversary of the National Health Service (NHS). The contributors were asked to think aloud about the health service of the future. The short pieces are intended to identify challenges and opportunities for the UK health service from a range of different perspectives and highlight the issues that will be at the forefront of the public debate on health.
From the perspective of funding, Ben Page, Managing Director, Ipsos-MORI, believes that, “The ongoing revolution in information technology will … be vital over the next 60 years, for better or worse we will have a much more detailed understanding of the relationship between lifestyle, generic background and health, and more detailed information about every individual.” He says that, “At some point in the next 60 years it may become necessary for people to be informed of the consequences of their behaviour and sign waivers with GPs if they opt to continue making unhealthy choices – like drinking too much.” He provides an example: “ I see Mr Smith, from the results of your scans that you continue to drink half a bottle of wine a day on average and no exercise. You will appreciate that this puts you at a real risk of x, y and z. If the next scan shows no improvement, I will need to add to you the surcharge list for following diseases…”
The 28 contributors to the publication included senior politicians, NHS staff, patients and their advocates and academics. Chris Exeter, NHS Connecting for Health, asserts that health care will be delivered through soft technology, which will include ”records, online information, test results and monitoring of ongoing conditions…The consumer will at last be more important than the producer,’’ he said. The publication can be downloaded from: www.smf.co.uk/60th-anniversary-of-the-nhs.html
Training for a health care revolution
Demand for revolutionary new medical treatments is to be met by training up a new breed of scientist. To realise the full potential of the latest health care advances such as regenerating cartilage and bone and growing heart muscle cells, a £6 million (e7.7 million) specialist centre is being established at Loughborough University. The next health care revolution is expected to be in the field of regenerative medicine. By creating biological therapies or substitutes for the replacement or restoration of tissue function lost through failure or disease, many preventable deaths could be avoided.
To provide the highly skilled scientists required to speed-up the development of new therapies and treatments Loughborough University, in collaboration with the University of Nottingham and Keele University, are to establish a new Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) in Regenerative Medicine. The new centre will combine the expertise of all three institutions. Specific expertise includes ground breaking surgical procedures, stem cell biology and new materials for implantation into the body and commercial translation.
The University of Nottingham’s expertise in orthopaedics and cardiology is already showing potential. In orthopaedics, researchers are aiming to help patients with nonhealing bone fractures and loss of bone as a result of tumour removal or degeneration because of age. The DTC is to target the regeneration of cartilage and bone. In cardiology, researchers are already developing techniques to generate heart muscle cells from stem cells. In the future, these cells could be used to reverse damage to heart muscle and restore the function of the heart after a major heart attack.
Loughborough University’s Professors Chris Hewitt and David Williams, who will lead the DTC, said, “Regenerative medicine has been described as a new industry for a new millennium and it is very exciting to be training the next generation of biological engineers who will make a real contribution to improving the nation’s health.” Kevin Shakesheff, Director of the University of Nottingham’s Centre for Biomolecular Sciences and Professor of Tissue Engineering in the School of Pharmacy, said, “Therapies that regrow human tissue promise to revolutionise human health over the next 100 years.” www.lboro.ac.uk, www.nottingham.ac.uk, www.keele.ac.uk
Europe network launched
Enterprise Europe Network is a new service comprising more than 500 organisations and 4000 professionals across Europe that offers a broad range of support to companies wanting to access funding, expand into Europe or develop new technologies. The network is designed to maximise the potential for innovation by small and medium-sized companies across the South East of the UK. It aims to help technology businesses to effectively develop innovative products and services by giving them access to a database of European technology partners, streamlined assistance in obtaining funding and sector focused networking events. The Network has been given practical support to access Europe’s e50 billion research fund. www.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu
New trade association heads
Peter Ellingworth is the new Chief Executive of the Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI), the lead trade association for the UK medical devices and systems industry. Ellingworth recently stood down as Chairman of the ABHI. He has been an active participant in ABHI activities for a number of years, as well as being involved with the SDMA, BHTA, Drug Tariff Forum and chairing the Advamed UK Working Group. He was formerly Vice President, UK and Ireland, of ConvaTec. Geoff Cox of Huntleigh Healthcare is the newly elected Chairman. He is Managing Director of Huntleigh in the UK and also sits on the ArjoHuntleigh global management team. www.abhi.org.uk
Marketing conference
New organisations, activities and practices now span the national health care sector. Innovative companies must still reach patients and it is essential that they are aware of the changes and the opportunities that exist. The ABHI is holding its 2008 UK Market conference titled, “Getting Innovation to Patients: Engaging in the National Health Service Business Landscape,” on 26 November 2008. The programme aims to provide insights into the NHS commercial innovation system and how the different organisations and activities fit together. To register, e-mail: conferences@abhi.org.uk
Increase in R&D tax credits
Tax credits to encourage small businesses to invest more in developing new and improved products were increased by £80 million (e103 million) a year on 1 August 2008. This brings the total tax relief available to approximately £300 million (e385 million) a year. The rate available for qualifying small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) investing in research and development (R&D) increases from 150% to 175% of their investment to enable companies to claim the additional tax relief. The size of company that can qualify for tax relief also increases from 250 employees to up to 500 employees, with the associated limits on balance sheet value and turnover also doubling. The increase will help SMEs to grow into large R&D companies by continuing to provide the benefit of a higher rate of relief up to these new, higher limits. www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ newsroom_and_speeches/press/2008/press_85_08.cfm
Diagnostic devices save money
If the correct investments were made at a primary care level, the NHS could save in excess of £8 million (e10.3 million) a year through a reduction in the number of patients who are admitted for emergency treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is the conclusion from figures calculated by Axis Shield UK. COPD is one of the UK’s most prolific diseases and encompasses conditions such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The condition affects approximately 1.5% of the UK population.
Every time a COPD patient is admitted unexpectedly to hospital, the associated financial impact is £2337 (e3001) and in 2003–2004 the total cost to the NHS reached a staggering £253 million (e325 million). As part of its ongoing work with a number of primary care trusts (PCTs), Axis Shield UK has calculated that if each of the 152 health care trusts in the UK were to prevent just two emergency admissions a month, the overall cost saving would be more than £8 million (approximately e10.3 million).
Sue Younghusband, Marketing Director for Axis Shield UK said, “At the end of this year, the Department for Health will unveil its National Services Framework for COPD, an initiative designed to improve the quality of COPD services the length and breadth of the country. The External Reference Group working on this project has already recognised the vital role innovative technologies will play in delivering improved quality of care and patient monitoring for COPD sufferers; something many forward thinking PCTs have also started to recognise.”
She continued, “Demand is already on the up for portable diagnostic devices like our handheld solution, i-STAT. Meas-uring a range of parameters including blood gases and providing reliable, lab accurate test results in minutes, i-STAT enables respiratory nurses to monitor the status of COPD patients while they are with them. This means informed decisions on accurate dosing, alterations to medication or the need for a patient to undergo further assessment can be made at the point of care. The benefits of this are twofold: less anxiety and inconvenience for patients, who can find out test results on the spot, plus reduced costs for PCTs if emergency admissions are prevented.” More than 30 PCTs are now using the device, which has the capacity to store up to 5000 patient records. It works by using advanced biosensor technology and as little as two drops of blood plus a test cartridge. www.axis-shielduk.com
Impersonation of MHRA staff
The UK’s Competent Authority, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) reports that there have been a number of calls made to companies from people purporting to be members of MHRA staff, who do not work for the Agency. It states on its website that it knows that companies are generally alert to this type of activity, but it reminds them and their staff to be vigilant. These callers often quote nongeographic numbers such as those starting with 0871, which are not used by the Agency. If staff do not recognise the name of the caller, they are urged to take the number and call MHRA’s Central Enquiry Point on +44 20 7084 2000 to check whether the caller is genuine before giving out any information. www.mhra.gov.uk
