BioTrinity 24: A bigger and brighter future for life sciences. A Day Two Wrap-Up
OBN’s BioTrinity 2024 has been the biggest yet! And a recurring message throughout the second day of the conference was one of ‘going big’. Big on approach, big on optimism and big on ambition. This concluding day of BioTrinity 2024 built on the positivity of the first day. Record levels of delegates were immersed in a packed day of business and science-focused presentations, partnering and networking. Indeed, a remarkable 9,000 partnering meetings were requested (showing just how vibrant the appetite for engagement is), with more than 1,500 of these taking place on site, all designed to fuel deal-making and business collaboration in the sector.
The first panel in the Business Track set the tone for the day. In a discussion exploring the macro-environmental factors impacting life sciences R&D companies, both Jordy Breuker, of F. Institute and Steve Silvey, from Oxford University Innovation, said that SMEs need to ‘go big’ when attracting investors. “You can be broader in your R&D package or you can go further and think more steps ahead,” said Jordy. “It’s a conceptual shift in thinking from short-term, incremental steps in valuation.” Steve went on to add: “I would think about capabilities - for example, if you are a software company building algorithms for medical devices that involve hardware, could you acquire a hardware business to fit with the vision of the total offering you want to make? There are definitely opportunities for you to think differently about how we raise bigger sums for more ambitious plans.”
Other subjects covered in the business track included an insight into strategic disease focus, a panel discussing the Inflation Reduction Act, a Keynote entitled ‘Cultivating Entrepreneurship and Translation’ and an analysis of what a good deal looks like and what investors really want (best summarised as great management, strong science, alignment at Board level and hitting the milestones)!
Meanwhile, the two simultaneously running science tracks shared a wealth of innovation with delegates. In Science Track One, there were R&D spotlights on oncology, and cardiovascular & metabolic disease. The final presentation of the day in Science Track One was on neurodegenerative & age-related disease. Here, Jim Otto of Ipsen, spoke of how 60 million people worldwide currently have a neurodegenerative disorder. While this figure is set to treble by 2050, we are in a very optimistic phase, with the development of better disease understanding, recent innovation and advances in technology, and a more favourable regulatory environment.
Over in Science Track Two were insights into digital health, and platforms for drug discovery and development. In the latter spotlight, Hakim Yadi shared Closed Loop Medicine’s pioneering combination drug and software vision. Hakim highlighted the issue that the standard two doses of amlodipine for hypertension (5mg and 10mg) did not work for many participants. With software designed to define individual participants’ ideal doses, Closed Loop Medicine’s study found that 84% of the 152 participants who achieved blood pressure control did so on novel doses.
Part of OBN’s purpose encapsulates support for the future of the life sciences sector through giving a voice to the emerging entrepreneur population. This was nicely illustrated with a new initiative this year – an academic poster showcase. Here, representatives from universities around the UK got to present a poster displaying their innovative research. This is part of OBN’s commitment to helping young talent to access the market and thrive.
Feedback from these young entrepreneurs echoed the overwhelming response from so many of the 850 BioTrinity delegates. This year’s meeting was arguably the best ever and the sentiment and outlook for UK life sciences is big and bright.
