James has operated at the highest levels of government, including as a Minister at the
Department for Health & Social Care, as Director of the No.10 Policy Unit, and as an
advisor to DHSC Ministers during the COVID-19 crisis. As Minister his responsibilities
included implementing the Life Science Industrial Strategy, delivering a new pricing
scheme with the pharmaceutical industry, chairing the National Genomics Board, and
driving the digital transformation of the NHS. He was also responsible for preparing the
health and social care sectors for Brexit and helping to design the post-Brexit regulatory
regime. In 2023 James led an independent review of commercial clinical trials in the UK
for the British government (published May 2023).
James is co-founder and Senior Partner of Newmarket Strategy, a consultancy
dedicated to improving access to health innovation by providing strategic advice and
technical support to the healthcare, life sciences and health tech sectors. At
Newmarket, James provides senior counsel to multinationals, SMEs, investors,
universities and charities across health and life sciences, with a particular focus on
technology, digital and data.
He is a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Global Health Innovation, where he chairs
the Data, Health & Wealth programme, and is on the board at Health Data Research UK
and the Albion Development VCT plc.
