Honorary Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society (BPS), Lord Patrick Vallance, has resigned from his role as the UK Government's Minister of State for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear.
📷 Portrait of Lord Patrick Vallance. Crown copyright. Licensed under the Open Government Licence.
On the news of the resignation, the British Pharmacological Society wishes to thank Lord Vallance for his exceptional contribution to science, medicine and public service throughout his eight years supporting Government.
BPS President-elect, Professor Simon Maxwell, said,
“Lord Patrick Vallance has made an exceptional contribution to science, medicine and public service. As a distinguished clinical pharmacologist, he has consistently demonstrated the value of bringing scientific expertise to the heart of decision-making. His achievements span academia, industry and government, from advancing fundamental understanding of vascular biology to leading medicines discovery and development that delivered new treatments for patients worldwide. Throughout his career, he has championed innovation, evidence-based policy and the translation of research into real-world benefit. The British Pharmacological Society thanks Sir Patrick for his outstanding service and wishes him every success in the future.”
In 2014, while in his role as President of GSK Research & Development, Lord Vallance was invited by then-President of the BPS, Professor Humphrey Rang, to give the Society's prestigious President's Lecture. His talk, 'New Medicines: A vital, but risky, business', can be watched in full on the BPS YouTube channel.
Later that same year, Lord Vallance was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the British Pharmacological Society.
📷 Lord Patrick Vallance delivering the 2014 BPS President's Lecture.
In 2017, the Society welcomed Lord Vallance's appointment as the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, with then-President Professor David Webb stating that it was “fantastic news for UK science”.
In 2023, shortly after his term as Chief Scientific Adviser ended, Lord Vallance gave the closing keynote lecture of the 19th World Congress of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology (WCP2023), held by the BPS in Glasgow on behalf of the International Union of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR). His talk, titled ‘Observations on science in academia, industry and government’, can be viewed in full on the BPS YouTube channel. In it, Lord Vallance emphasises the importance of pharmaceutical research in tackling COVID-19, stating that "therapeutics is an area where the UK has done really well”.
