A great summary from Anaid Benitez highlighting key takeaways from our recent C-Suite Breakfast Discussion that took place on 10 July, ‘Enhancing TTO and Spin-out Partnerships to Support Growth in Life Sciences’
🤔 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐊'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬? In a recent OBN (UK) Ltd C-Suite Breakfast Discussion, sponsored by Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP, we discussed this question and delved into the critical issues around the UK's life sciences entrepreneurial ecosystem. Key takeaways: -Early career scientists in the UK are 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 and ambitious as their US counterparts, but the entrepreneurial infrastructure and 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬 are entirely different. 👩🔬 -𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐧𝐢 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Michael Joseph PhD from Brunel University London emphasised how a 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 can reinforce job creation and support for university graduates. 🎓 -𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚-𝐒𝐌𝐄 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Michael also highlighted Brunel's RIEm2025 initiative, demonstrating the importance of small grants to back innovative ideas driven by academics and companies together. 💷 -𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬: Lisa Smith, CEO of Midlands Mindforge, discussed the lack of accessible funding in the Midlands and highlighted that traditional funds are forcing biotech companies to sell IP prematurely, highlighting a fundamental market failure. ❌ -𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝: There's a need for a cultural shift towards supporting high-risk, high-reward projects in the UK. 🌍
