Matt Westmore, Chief Executive
Is regulation a barrier to innovation?
“No.”
That was my rapid response when asked on stage at The Times Life Sciences Summit on 21 May - followed by a (metaphorical) mic drop as I leant back in my chair.
I was taking part in a panel discussion chaired by Times Radio presenter Kait Borsay, alongside Robert Evans, CEO of Wellcome Genome Campus, and Dr Doina Ionescu, General Manager for Healthcare UK&I at Merck. The session explored how the UK can become the most attractive place in the world to develop and deliver new treatments - and at its core sat an important question: do we need better regulation?
Kait, understandably, wanted more detail than my one-word answer.
Regulation itself is not the problem - any more than it would be true to say that clinical governance or corporate governance are inherently unhelpful. These are not negative constructs; they are essential foundations of what good looks like. Yes, they can be done poorly, but done well, they enable confidence, consistency and quality.
The same is true of regulation. It can be done badly and it can be done well, but it is not inherently a brake on innovation. In fact, I would go much further than just a passive position that it is not the problem - it actively powers innovation.
There does not need to be a trade-off. Effective regulation creates the confidence, trust and predictability that innovation and investment depend on.
Innovation moves at the pace of trust: without regulation there can be no trust; without trust there will be no innovation. It gives patients confidence to participate, the NHS confidence to adopt, and investors’ confidence to invest.
The importance of trust, of effective regulation, and the UK’s strength in this regard was echoed throughout the day.
Regulatory confidence is essential for public trust - people are more willing to participate in research when they believe the system is ethical, robust and transparent.
In a world where scientific and technological progress is making the science fiction section at Waterstones look out of date, one aspect of supporting innovation is that regulators themselves need to be innovative. This is one of the UK’s strengths. Our regulators are trusted globally, for the quality of their decisions today and the way they adapt and innovate for the future.
The important thing is how we think about regulation.
If we get it right - clear, proportionate and predictable - it does not slow innovation down. It enables it.
So, I stand by the answer I gave on stage. No, regulation is not a barrier to innovation. Regulation is the trust engine that powers innovation.
