No minister: UK biotech community loses its dedicated government minister
George Freeman delighted in telling people he was the world’s “first and only” minister for the life sciences. The question now is whether he will also be the last.
In the big government reshuffle following David Cameron’s departure in the wake of the stunning vote in favor of leaving the EU, Freeman now has a new task as chair of the Prime Minister’s Policy Board.
Freeman was a biotech entrepreneur himself in the day, once running a company called Amedis and backing biotechs as the director of early-stage ventures at Merlin. That background provided an enthusiastic welcome from the country’s biotech community, which enjoyed the attention the minister brought to the field. And his new post has triggered more than a few laments on Twitter.
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