A BEACON of hope was lit this week among all the doom and gloom, so beloved by the press and media.
A revolutionary new process to counter cancer could save millions of lives.
It’s the work of the German drug company BioNTech, which has decided to partner with the UK to develop a new range of vaccines.
Based on the innovative MRNA ‘platform’, which was used to such good effect in the Pfizer vaccine, the hope is to use cutting-edge technology to stop cancer returning or prevent early cancers spreading.
The reason why its developer, Professor Ozlem Tureci, chose the UK to work with is also significant.
He told the BBC: “The UK is a great partner for this endeavour. We have seen in the Covid-19 pandemic with the fast approval of vaccines in the UK that the regulatory authority is exceptional”.
While there’s no doubt that Dame Kate Bingham’s vaccine taskforce created the impetus, there was just one reason for the speed of the approval – Brexit.
Free of all the red tape, we were approving and deploying covid jabs months before the EU lumbered into action.
This fleetness of foot proved invaluable and will continue to attract more world-beating business.
Our excellence in life sciences is noteworthy, as are our advances in artificial intelligence, nuclear fusion, space and quantum technology and robotics.
Professor Tureci also describes the UK as a ‘leading nation’ in genomic analysis.
The Government has recognised that new research and development in science is crucial, announcing a £40 billion R&D budget for 2022-2025 last March.
The aim is to make Britain a ‘science superpower’.
Outside the EU, and in control of our destiny at last, the opportunities, such as this giant step in the battle against cancer, are limitless.