AFTER being dropped by British online fashion retailer Boohoo, American rapper DaBaby apologised for the comments he made about people with HIV while onstage at a US music festival.
He tweeted that his comments were "insensitive" adding he had "no intentions [of] offending anybody" before offering "my apologies".
The rapper had a clothing deal with Boohoo Group’s menswear fascia BoohooMAN.
It comes after Dua Lipa, whose song Levitating he features on, said she was "surprised and horrified" by his words.
"Anybody who done ever been [affected] by AIDS/HIV y'all got the right to be upset," DaBaby said.
He also addressed the LGBT community in his tweet saying "I ain't trippin on y'all, do you. y'all business is y'all business."
Performing at Rolling Loud festival in Miami on Sunday (25), DaBaby asked every audience member to "put your cell phone light up", apart from those who were HIV-positive or were gay men who had sex in car parks.
He also made the false claim that HIV will "make you die in two or three weeks".
After the event, DaBaby defended his comments in an Instagram story posted on Sunday (25), saying "What I do at the live show is for the audience at the live show. It would never translate correctly to someone looking a little five/six second clip."
The rapper faced massive backlash over his remarks about gay people and people living with HIV.
Boohoo on Wednesday (28), said in a statement "BoohooMAN condemn the use of homophobic language and confirm we will no longer be working with DaBaby.”
"Diversity and inclusion are part of the boohoo Groups DNA and we pride ourselves on representing the diverse customers we serve across the globe. We stand by and support the LGBTQ+ community, and do not tolerate any hate speech or discrimination in any form," it said.
UK life sciences sector contributed £17.6bn GVA in 2021 and supports 126,000 high-skilled jobs.
Inward life sciences FDI fell by 58 per cent from £1,897m in 2021 to £795m in 2023.
Experts warn NHS underinvestment and NICE pricing rules are deterring innovation and patient access.
Investment gap
Britain is seeking to attract new pharmaceutical investment as part of its plan to strengthen the life sciences sector, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said during meetings in Washington this week. “We do need to make sure that we are an attractive place for pharmaceuticals, and that includes on pricing, but in return for that, we want to see more investment flow to Britain,” Reeves told reporters.
Recent ABPI report, ‘Creating the conditions for investment and growth’, The UK’s pharmaceutical industry is integral to both the country’s health and growth missions, contributing £17.6 billion in direct gross value added (GVA) annually and supporting 126,000 high-skilled jobs across the nation. It also invests more in research and development (R&D) than any other sector. Yet inward life sciences foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 58per cent, from £1,897 million in 2021 to £795 million in 2023, while pharmaceutical R&D investment in the UK lagged behind global growth trends, costing an estimated £1.3 billion in lost investment in 2023 alone.
Richard Torbett, ABPI Chief Executive, noted “The UK can lead globally in medicines and vaccines, unlocking billions in R&D investment and improving patient access but only if barriers are removed and innovation rewarded.”
The UK invests just 9% of healthcare spending in medicines, compared with 17% in Spain, and only 37% of new medicines are made fully available for their licensed indications, compared to 90% in Germany.
Expert reviews
Shailesh Solanki, executive editor of Pharmacy Business, pointed that “The government’s own review shows the sector is underfunded by about £2 billion per year. To make transformation a reality, this gap must be closed with clear plans for investment in people, premises and technology.”
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) cost-effectiveness threshold £20,000 to £30,000 per Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY) — has remained unchanged for over two decades, delaying or deterring new medicine launches. Raising it is viewed as vital to attracting foreign investment, expanding patient access, and maintaining the UK’s global standing in life sciences.
Guy Oliver, General Manager for Bristol Myers Squibb UK and Ireland, noted that " the current VPAG rate is leaving UK patients behind other countries, forcing cuts to NHS partnerships, clinical trials, and workforce despite government growth ambitions".
Reeves’ push for reform, supported by the ABPI’s Competitiveness Framework, underlines Britain’s intent to stay a leading hub for pharmaceutical innovation while ensuring NHS patients will gain faster access to new treatments.
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