Life sciences innovation, investment and impact
Life sciences innovation, investment and impact were the focus for a major summit in Aberdeen, attracting sector leaders from across the UK.
More than 130 innovators and entrepreneurs, academics and researchers, clinicians and healthcare professionals, and venture capitalists and investors attended the summit, held in King’s College Conference Centre on 30 March.
The event was co-created and delivered through a partnership of The Times and Sunday Times Scotland, Opportunity North East and BioHub, and supported by the University of Aberdeen.
Keynotes, panel discussions and showcase sessions explored the latest biotech and healthtech developments, funding and investment for company growth, and what is coming next for this high-value sector regionally and nationally – including the opening of the transformational BioHub in Aberdeen later this year.
Speaking at the summit opening, ONE CEO Jennifer Craw said:
“I hope you'll agree that the sector’s story of the past two years is one of extraordinary progress.
“The challenge ahead is to ensure that the ideas that are the foundations of your research and innovation can become solutions. Therapies, treatments, technologies that change people’s lives and deliver economic value.
“BioHub is now a real place moving into its late construction phase. Ready to become the focal point for life sciences company creation and growth, Providing the space and specialist support to new and scaling businesses, and connections to empowering networks and investors. It is a physical manifestation of the Aberdeen city region's confidence in life sciences and its role in our future, low-carbon economy.
“So today’s agenda of life sciences innovation, investment and impact is about and for you. The innovators and entrepreneurs, the clinicians and healthcare professionals, the venture capitalists and investors. And how together we can accelerate world-leading research and innovation.”
Key takeaways from the day were:
We are in a golden age of life sciences in the UK with research innovation, access to talent and capital, data and technology converging to accelerate the commercialisation of life-changing #biotech and #healthtech solutions.
Investment in start-up, spinout and scaling businesses and investment in infrastructure and the support ecosystem are essential to fully realise the sector’s health, social and economic impacts. Especially in regional cluster outside the golden triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge. BioHub will therefore be a transformational investment for Aberdeen and the city’s distinct company cluster and research strengths.
We are just at the beginning of the data-driven revolution in life sciences, healthcare and social care. “There are two definitions of AI. AI that achieves human levels of performance and another that achieves superhuman performance. That's what I'm excited about. That's powerful. AI has the ability to provide superhuman answers for human questions,” said Dr Ignat Drozdov, from Bering.
The sector’s success is founded on people with ideas and building the right teams around them. Celebrating and increasing its diversity and attractiveness to innovators from across the world will be key to becoming a global life sciences powerhouse. Diversity includes diversity in thought, in gender and race, in order to create an interesting dynamic. Having diversity in the workplace is paramount.
To sum up, Houman Ashrafian of SV Health Investors put it succinctly when he said: “Life sciences is unequivocally the most exciting sector in the UK commercial ecosystem today.”
A huge thank you goes to the speakers, delegates, organisers and partners who shared their insights, experiences and views, and collectively made the 2022 Life Sciences Summit such a positive and inspiring day. They included: Mark Bamforth, Arranta Bio; Dr Rabinder Buttar, formerly Clintec International; Dr Deborah O’Neil, Novabiotics; Dr Glenn Corr, TauRx; Dr James McIlroy, EnteroBiotix; Dr Tiffany Wood, Dyneval; Prof Andy Porter, Elasmogen/University of Aberdeen; Dee Dinneen, Kheiron Medical Technologies; Dr Ignat Drozdov, Bering; Dr Andrew Keen, NHS Grampian; Houman Ashrafian, SV Health Investors; Dr Martin Turner, UK Bioindustry Association; Struan Wilkie, NHS Grampian; Tom Whipple, The Times; Magnus Llewellin, The Times Scotland; Jason Allardyce, Sunday Times Scotland; and Jennifer Craw, Opportunity North East.
The golden age of life sciences investment panel featured (from the right) Dr Martin Turner from the UK BioIndustry Association, Houman Ashrafian from SV Health Investors; Fiona MacLaughlin of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, and Dr Glenn Corr, COO and CBO at TauRx Pharmaceuticals.