The biggest UK life sciences delegation headed to the Asia-Pacific region earlier this week to demonstrate the sector’s strengths and to foster collaborations at the region’s largest biosciences conference, BioJapan — Yokohama, Japan.
Japan
Led by regional cluster organisations MedCity and the Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA) along with the Department for International Trade, the delegation used the conference as a platform to meet with more Japanese businesses and promote the UK as open for investment, research and business.
Currently, the UK is the fourth largest market to receive investment from Japan in the life sciences sector and has a strong collaborative research history with the country. The aim of the delegation is to improve on these current collaborations.
According to a statement from NHSA some areas the delegation are specifically looking at include:
- Takeda is collaborating with GemmaDelta, a London-based immunotherapy company, to discover and develop new immunotherapies with the aim of treating a broad range of cancers, including solid tumours and autoinflammatory diseases.
- Wellcome renewed its commitment to the Japanese Global Health Innovative Technology fund (GHIT) in June, which aims to develop live-saving health innovations for some of the world’s poorest people. Wellcome, the Japanese government, private companies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation collectively committed over US$200 million to support GHIT’s next phase of work.
- Pharma company, Eisai has a neurodegenerative disease drug discovery research collaboration with University College London, which to date has delivered four research projects focussed on key areas of interest for disease intervention including: mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation and protein misfolding and aggregation.
- The Medical Research Council and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to advance UK-Japan partnership in medical research and development.
Business Minister Lord Prior, who has been vital in developing the government’s industrial strategy, said: “Japan is one of the UK’s most important science and research partners which is why we are taking the largest ever delegation to the BioJapan conference, reinforcing our commitment to international collaboration to solve some of greatest medical issues of our time. We have made the biggest increase to Government funding for research and development since 1979, and through our work with industry partners on the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy, we are ensuring the UK’s expertise in this sector continues to go from strength to strength.”
“Health Innovation is one of the key strands of government Industrial Strategy and trade delegations such as this offer global industry the opportunity to engage with the best in Life Sciences,” explained Sarah Haywood, CEO, MedCity. “Life Science hubs such as the NHSA and MedCity were recognised in the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy as driving growth across the country and we’re delighted to be bringing our members to BioJapan to explain exactly why the UK is leading the world in health innovation.”
“This delegation of leading health scientists and industry highlights the strength of our ecosystem, and the opportunities for Japan to do research, collaborate, and invest in the UK,” added Dr Liz Mear, NHSA board member and CEO of the Innovation Agency. “The UK is currently the fourth largest market for life sciences investment from Japan, particularly in oncology, immunotherapy and ageing, and we value our natural partnership. With over 5,000 life sciences businesses, four of the world’s top ten universities, and world-leading research centres, we want to spread the message that even with the UK’s current political uncertainty, we remain open for science.”