UK TRANSHUMANIST ASSOCIATION

Transhumanist education, promotion and networking for the United Kingdom

Biosciences regulation: Don't strangle goodwill with red tape

This week saw some mixed news:

On Monday, Gilead Sciences, one of the world's largest biotechnology companies, moved its European headquarters from Paris to London, stating that "we are impressed by the UK Government's recognition of the importance of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and its commitment to dialogue with them."

On Tuesday, it was announced that Professor Miodrag Stojkovic who, with colleagues at Newcastle University, cloned the first human embryo in May, is leaving the country for Spain because lack of funding and red tape make his research impossible in the UK.

Finally, on Wednesday, the OECD published its "Economic Survey of the United Kingdom 2005" which contains the recommendation that the UK "address [its] apparently mediocre innovation performance".

Britain is rightly proud of its progressive stance on bioscience research. The members of the UK Transhumanist Association are glad to live in a country at the forefront of global bioscience innovation, but good intentions can be drowned by bureaucracy and red tape. The events of this week illustrate how swiftly science can relocate, in the globalised world we live in. Britain would be ill-advised to allow complacency based on past successes. We need to be careful not to turn commitment into committees, but to listen to the needs of industry and public sector scientists alike. This will not only benefit Britain, but also foster scientific progress which is the common heritage of mankind.