George Freeman MP, the Minister for Life Sciences, will give a keynote address for the pharma sector at an event which will tackle the future of DNA and data in healthcare.
The 3rd Astellas Innovation Debate: i-Genes - What the DNA and Data Revolutions mean for our Health, will take place on Thursday 29th January 2015 at the Royal Institution of Great Britain.
Organised and funded by Astellas, a progressive pharmaceutical company that explores the frontiers of scientific discovery to translate new knowledge into innovative, reliable medicines, the Astellas Innovation Debates are a series of annual events that bring together "progressive thinkers".
George Freeman's keynote address will outline the Government's aim to develop, assess and adopt new drugs, devices and diagnostics as we move towards 21st century, personalised healthcare.
Mr Freeman said: "We are at the dawn of an exciting new age of precision medicine. DNA and clinical informatics are changing the landscape of life sciences in the 21st century. The Government is committed to embracing these transformational technologies which is why we have recently launched 11 new NHS genomic medicine centres to support the 100,000 genomes project. By working together, the Government, the NHS, companies, charities, clinicians and patient groups can ensure that this country leads in the fast-emerging field of precision and personalised medicine."
Ken Jones, President and CEO of, Astellas Pharma EMEA, said: "The Astellas Innovation Debate series reflects our commitment to innovation as well as enabling Astellas to contribute more generally to science and discovery by providing a collaborative platform where everyone can come together to discuss and debate the new developments and innovations that are shaping our future."
"This year's debate will explore the impact on healthcare of two seismic shifts currently underway in science and technology - the revolution in genetic data and understanding, and the explosion of smart technologies and devices in consumer and medical settings. Together our international experts and the invited audience will discuss the implications of these advances on medical care. Only by having public debates such as these can we tackle the challenges to make personalised medicine a reality."
This year's debate will be chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby who will ask the panel what the recent breakthroughs in genetic medicine and smart technology mean for our health. They include American biologist Dr Leroy Hood, whose leadership led to the automated DNA sequencing, human rights activist Baroness Helena Kennedy, QC, Professor Lionel Tarassenko, CBE, Head of Engineering at Oxford University and Professor Rolf A. Stahel, President of the European Society for Medical Oncology.
