Monday 1 July 2013

The Life Science Innovation Imperative

By Professor David Wield

Reporting from the Science and Innovation 2013 conference at the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster

There is an economic and moral imperative to innovate. Yet, advances in the life sciences meant to deliver significant socio-economic benefits in health, agriculture and the environment are often constrained by developmental and regulatory dynamics. This was the basis for a session organised by the new Innogen Institute (daughter of the ESRC Innogen Centre) on the 'Life Science Innovation Imperative' at the Science and Innovation Conference.

As an Innogen member I was incredibly proud to see our research being picked up and used. Innogen’s four presentations addressed current issues affecting our ability to innovate – covering topics, including innovation and its relationship to the real economy, intellectual property rights, innovation-industrial policy, private and public sector collaborations, and the goals and practicalities of the responsible research and innovation framework - and brought a wide range of positive questions and comments. It’s always good to hear someone say: 'this is the best thing I’ve heard on this topic'.