The milestone came in the first year of the Government's Life Sciences Sector Plan.

Science, innovation and technology secretary, Liz Kendall, said: ‘In its first year, our Life Sciences Sector Plan is delivering cutting-edge treatments to tackle cancer, new opportunities for British businesses to start up and grow, and well-paid jobs that improve lives for families. A thriving life sciences sector is good for NHS patients and good for economic growth across the UK.'

Further milestones include cutting the average wait time to set up clinical trials from 169 to 122 days in the first half of 2025 to 2026.

Patients are expected to get new medicines up to six months sooner under the new joint MHRA-NICE approval process.

A new Jobs Plan aims to create 66,000 additional jobs in priority occupations across the sector by 2035, from lab technicians and chemical scientists to software developers.

The UK to become the third largest life sciences economy in the world by 2035.