Dr Glenn Crocker, Chief Executive of BioCity Nottingham, a leading incubator company hosting over 70 early stage and growing businesses operating in the Life Science sector, while welcoming the government measures has a number of caveats to add.
“The £180 million catalyst fund needs to be directed to early clinical trials which can be very costly for emerging life science businesses and it is at this stage that promising companies often grind to a halt for lack of investment. The government might look at the USA’s Therapeutic Discovery Project, which funds 50% of the costs of therapeutic product development. I would suggest that the greatest benefit for the investment of this resource will be in small companies outside the South East of England where research is relatively underfunded. Clearly the small print of the catalyst fund has yet to be worked out and I would encourage the government to consult with those in early stage life science companies as it develops its policies.”
Dr Crocker was very disappointed at the focus of the debate around links between the NHS and drug discovery activity.
“Surely it could have been made much clearer that the debate is not about data protection and privatisation of the NHS but is about the removal of red tape around activities that are already currently being undertaken today for the benefit of all. The marshalling of vast NHS resources to accelerate drug discovery and make the UK an attractive location to undertake pharmaceutical research and development is enormously important but the agenda has been allowed to wander into areas which really aren’t central to the issue.”
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Media Contact: Integra Communications – 0115 912 4350
Dr Glenn Crocker is Chief Executive of BioCity Nottingham Ltd and a director of a range of early stage life science companies and of the Mobius Life Sciences Fund. He is author of the 2011 UK Life Science Start up report ‘Transition’ published this month. He was previously author of Ernst & Young’s Annual European and US Life Science Reports.
BioCity Nottingham Ltd was launched in 2003. The company develops and operates bioscience and healthcare-related incubation and innovation facilities. The first facility opened in September 2003, and Phase 3 in the form of grow-on space, opened in October 2008. BioCity is currently home to 66 fast-growing companies, including R&D and business support services.
BioCity was founded by Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham and East Midlands Development Agency.