All together now: Improving cross-sector collaboration in the UK biomedical industry

Date: 15.03.2011 11:00 - 12:00

Location: NESTA, 1 Plough Place, London, EC4A 1DE

Watch the video from the event

With over £14bn of exports and accounting for 27% of all UK business Research and Development (R&D) spend, the biomedical sciences sector is a major UK industry. But whilst the UK has a relatively high rate of academic-industry collaboration, other countries are improving rapidly. Moreover, industry’s contribution to research funding has fallen during the first decade of this century. So if the UK is going to continue to compete in the international market it will need to recognise these changes and respond with better co-ordination.

NESTA’s report, launched at this event, explored these issues and makes some practical recommendations that need to be taken if the sector is to continue to flourish.

Speakers included Malcolm Skingle, Academic Liaison at Glaxo SmithKline, and Virginia Acha, Director, International Affairs at Pfizer, both of whom also contributed to the report and Professor Stephen Smith, CEO, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and Pro-Rector (Health), Imperial College London. The event was chaired by Sir John Chisholm, Chairman of NESTA and the MRC.