CDF London - The Future of the UK's Life Sciences and Funding

Graham is an experienced relationship & business development professional with a demonstrated history of working in publishing, marketing and events within the life sciences and science-led industries. Skilled in publishing, marketing & event management, Graham deeply understands the life science industries in the space before market approval and commercialization - essentially from the bench to phase 3.  He is a strong business development professional with a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry from University College London, U. of London.

Graham Combe

Join us at the Creative Disruption Forum on the Future of the UK's Life Sciences and the required funding landscape to be successful

The Westworks

Firstly, we are delighted to collaborate with The West Works Lab Space in White City London for our seventh Creative Disruption Forum (CDF). This is for industry thought leaders, business leaders (CXOs), and R&D Directors of emerging biotech and biopharma companies, our future leaders and anyone else who is interested and curious.All our CDFs so far have been received very well, you will see many photos, positive comments and separate LinkedIn posts from participants and sponsors from our previous events. Here is a small collection of the testimonials:"These #creativedisruption events are a genuine and wonderful exchange of ideas. An elegantly crafted format by Tony Sedgwick and Graham Combe." - Prashant Shah, Managing Partner, O2h Group and CEO of O2h Discovery."So pleased to represent Sitryx at the fantastic #creativedisruption forum. As always, Tony Sedgwick challenged us to think about how we do #drugdiscovery and what opportunities we see in the future." - Jon Ellery, Director of Biology, Sitryx"Being creatively disruptive with such a great group of people made for a great event." - Suzy Dilly, CEO, Valirx Plc.Creative Disruption Forum—24 March 2024—The Future of the UK's Life Sciences Sector and the Funding Requirements for Success.The Creative Disruption Forum, hosted by Tony Sedgwick and Graham Combe at the West Works, White City event venue on March 26, 2025, will comprehensively examine the life sciences sector's future in the UK through various interviews with industry leaders.Here's a closer look at these topics with some insight which we'll open to debate:The future of UK life sciences is poised for significant transformation, driven by multifaceted factors, including funding sources, political policies, technological advancements, and the need for lab space tenants. Let’s break down these components to understand the landscape of the life sciences sector in the UK.1. Future Outlook for UK Life Sciences - The UK life sciences industry is set to grow, leveraging its strong foundation in research and innovation. With leading universities and research institutions, the UK is a hub for biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare services. As the global demand for innovative therapies and health solutions increases, the UK is well-positioned to meet these needs through a combination of research outputs and commercial opportunities.2. Funding sources for UK life sciences will likely stem from various sources: - Public Investment: The UK government has committed to increasing its public funding in research and development, with initiatives like the R&D Roadmap aiming to reach 2.4% of GDP by 2027. Investments are expected in critical areas such as genomics, drug discovery, and digital health. - Private Sector: Venture capital continues to be a significant driver of funding for biotech startups. As successful exits increase, more investment will likely flow into innovative life sciences companies. Additionally, larger pharmaceutical companies may increase their venture arms to invest in promising technologies. - Collaborative Funding Initiatives: Public-private partnerships, including initiatives like UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will leverage public resources and private expertise to fund innovative projects.3. Political Policies Driving Growth - Recent political policies aimed at fostering growth in the life sciences sector include: - Life Sciences Vision 2030: This government initiative outlines a plan to position the UK as a global leader in life sciences, focusing on investment in infrastructure, workforce development, and regulatory simplification. - Health and Care Bill: This legislation aims to integrate health services and improve healthcare delivery, which translates to increased opportunities for life sciences companies to align their innovations with NHS needs. - Brexit Opportunities: Post-Brexit regulations provide the chance to develop tailored frameworks that may expedite access to markets and clinical trials, potentially making the UK an attractive location for life sciences research.4. Technology Disruption through AI and ML - Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) will significantly disrupt the life sciences sector by enhancing innovation in several ways: - Drug Discovery: AI can analyze vast datasets, predict molecular interactions and accelerate the identification of drug candidates. Companies like BenevolentAI, Isomorphic and Healx are already utilising these technologies to streamline the R&D process. - Clinical Trials: AI and ML algorithms can optimise trial design, patient recruitment, and data analysis, enabling more efficient and effective clinical trials. This can lead to faster approvals and reduced costs. - Personalized Medicine: AI can help develop tailored treatment plans by analysing genetic and clinical data, thus customising interventions based on individual patient profiles.5. Demand for Laboratory Space - As new lab spaces become available in the UK, the question of tenant demand is critical. Potential sources for tenants include: - Startups and Scale-ups: With a vibrant ecosystem of startups emerging from incubators and accelerators, there is a steady demand for lab spaces, especially in cities with strong research institutions like Cambridge, London and Oxford.In conclusion, the UK life sciences industry will flourish through synergistic funding sources, strategic political policies, and technology-driven innovations. The new lab spaces will attract diverse tenants, fostering an environment ripe for further growth and collaboration. The interplay of these factors will define the future trajectory of the UK's life sciences landscape. At this Creative Disruption Forum, we will discuss these factors with a key focus on funding, venture building, the ecosystem and the promise of AI/ML.The Agenda in Summary10-10.30 am arrival with coffee &amp; teas, biscuits &amp; fruit10.30-10.35 - Intro from the Host sponsor - West Works, White City10.35-10.45—Introductions from Lauren Kossy, CDD Vault, Lynne Trowbridge, Bridgemoore PR &amp; Comms and Jack Corbett, CEO of GeneRx.Life is our supporting sponsors.10.45 -11.10 am - Keynote Interviews - What is the UK Funding landscape and what needs to be done to ensure the UK's Life Sciences success? Presentation by Andrew Craig, PlainEnglishFinance.com - author of the book "Our Future is Biotech."11.10-11.40 With Andrew Craig, we will hear from Max Hermmann, who recently retired as Head of U.K. Healthcare Equity Research, Stifel Corp. Max will give his expert analysis of the UK Life Sciences and where we are today. We then have Nadia Caro-Goldrine, Trade Advisor for Life Sciences for the Embassy of Denmark, UK. - Nadia will discuss how we in the UK can take inspiration from the Danish Foundation Model.11.40 am-12.15 pm - Keynote interviews - What is the future of AI in Life Sciences and where are the best opportunities - with interviewees - Gareth Conduit, CSO, Intellegens Ltd, Juergen Harter, CEO, MatriQx and Markus Gershatter, CEO and CSO, Synthace.12.15-12.30 pm - coffee &amp; tea break12.30 - 1.00 pm— Tony Sedgwick interviews with UK Life Science Business &amp; Academic leaders: Michel de Baar, Executive Director, BD&L, MSD and Prof Geriant Rees, UCL Vice Provost (Research, Innovation and Global Engagement).1.00-1.30 pm - The "Boots on the Ground." An emerging company perspective: Mike Davies, CEO of Carocell Bio, and George Orphanides, an Oncology Drug Discovery and development Expert formerly CSO of InvoX Pharma. Also, Victor Higgs, MD, Applied Nanodetectors, giving the medtech, AI, techbio point of view in Respiratory.1.30-2.30 pm - Light lunch with coffee &amp; refreshments2.15 - 3.30 pm - Workshops - 6-8 workshops on different topics keeping to event theme3.30 - 4.00 pm - Coffee, Tea and Refreshment Break4.00 - 4.45 - Group Leader Workshop Presentations - 5-10 mins each4.45 - 5.15 pm - Round-up of the day's learnings &amp; Thank you and Goodbyes5.45 pm - Unofficial drinks at The Pavillion, Wood Lane, London, W120HQ ADMISSION FEE for Service Companies such as CROs, CDMOs, Law Firms and Patent Attorneys, Consultancy Firms = £190 - ALL-INCLUSIVEADMISSION FEE for Innovative Emerging Life Science Companies and Independent Consultants = £95 Investors can apply for free entry by writing to graham@biosell.co.uk. Thank you to our sponsors, West Works Lab Space White City, Intellegens, CDD Vault, GeneRx.life, for their support.“Delighted to share that Andrew Craig, author of “Our Future is Biotech” will join us as a key note speaker…Andrew’s book makes the case that the biotechnology and related industries will have a significant and positive impact on all of us in the near future and for many decades to come. His belief is that the last century was about tech and physics. The next will be biotech and biology, if only because most of our remaining intractable challenges concern biological systems.Testimonials have included:“…an essential read for anyone committed to understanding the technologies that will define our future.”Christian Angermayer, Billionaire Biotech Entrepreneur and Founder of Apeiron Investment Group“A tour-de-force and a book that I found unputdownable. Andrew has seen the way for biotech and brings a unique, insightful and typically plain-English perspective to us all. This is a must-read and highly recommended.”Barry Smith, Founder of Sunday Times’ Fast Track 100 probiotics company, Symprove“…a must-read for anyone interested in the future of human health.”Jo Pisani, Chair of London MedCity’s advisory board, Birmingham’s Precision Health Technology Accelerator, and former head of PwC UK Pharma and Life Sciences More General Information about the Creative Disruption ForumAt all our events, we encourage dialogue in the room with the keynotes and participants expertly moderated by our resident thought leader, Prof Tony Sedgwick. Tony and I have worked together developing our Agile Leaders, Biotech Buddies, #coffeebuddies and now our Creative Disruption Forums over the last eight years. During the pandemic, we did 3-4 #coffeebuddies "shows" weekly, linking our UK community to others worldwide. Our aim for each participant in all our events is to be engaging, informative and entertaining - with no more death by PowerPoint! lol To spark new thoughts and ideas and build friendshipsAs organisers, we promise always to entertain, engage, inform and be interactive during our thought-leadership interviews and Creative Disruption workshops. This is to help you spark new thoughts and ideas and build friendships with peers, clients and collaborators. How do you benefit from attending?As a "Leader" in the biotech sector, or aspiring leader, you will benefit from this "Creative Disruption" Forum. It will allow you to share common challenges and build deeper connections and trust with your peers. In turn, the aim is to build your confidence when working in areas typically outside your comfort zone by learning and discussing with this / your "Agile" peer-to-peer network.You can broaden your understanding of the key aspects of the commercialisation journey and how to overcome potential barriers. You can speak to people in a similar position about issues you may not have the opportunity to talk about elsewhere. You can discuss your challenges by learning from other people's experiences to help you find a solution or spark an idea. Why let leaders of emerging companies reinvent the wheel to be successful when we can learn from the experiences of others who have faced similar challenges before?Chatham House Rules apply - "what goes on in the Forum, stays in the Forum - so to speak!"Our mission is to help you build your innovation-enabled healthcare business so it is "fit for purpose," genuinely innovative and attractive to the global markets. Helping you build solid, trustworthy networks with your peer group and help spread your creative R&D business network nationally and internationally. Our motivation and focus are on helping you build long-term reliable business relationships and support you on your journey through our supportive business community.Prof Tony Sedgwick, the self-professed www.ThoughtDisruptor.com, facilitates this workshop. Tony has an esteemed career in academia and business; he is a trained pathologist. His accolades include once being the Global Head of Clinical Reseach at Roche AG, being a VC and being one of the UK's first Biotech CEOs. Tony has now been CEO of four life science companies, Chairman of over 10 Companies, and held many positions within the academic community. He is also an active psychologist, which has helped him develop his passion for "Agile" community group development. He is a Jiu-Jitsu Grand Master VIII and Jiu-Jitsu trainer. Last year, Tony published the book "The Mighty Advisor", which became a number 1 best seller in the Amazon STEM Business Management category.We will start this Creative Disruption Forum on Tuesday, February 11, with a 10.00 am arrival (followed by a prompt 10.30 am start with interviews of prominent thought leaders).We promise that our #CreativeDisruption Forum will be like no other life sciences event or business network you have experienced. You will be walking out of the session inspired, educated and more connected. ADMISSION FEE for Service Companies such as CROs, CDMOs, Law Firms and Patent Attorneys, Consultancy Firms = £190 - ALL-INCLUSIVEADMISSION FEE for Innovative Emerging Life Science Companies and Independent Consultants = £95 Investors can apply for free entry by writing to graham@biosell.co.uk.

Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD) provides an intuitive software suite extensively used by creative biologists and chemists working in academic, biotechnology and pharmaceutical settings. Their flagship product, CDD Vault, enables researchers to intuitively organize and analyze both biological and chemical data, and to collaborate with partners through a straightforward web interface. CDD helps scientists register entities, track inventory, manage assay data, capture experiments, calculate Structure-Activity Relationships (SAR), and mine their data for drug candidates. CDD was founded in 2004 and presently serves thousands of researchers doing drug discovery all around the world. Learn more at <a href="http://www.collaborativedrug.com/" title="http://www.collaborativedrug.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.collaborativedrug.com</a>

White City Place is 1million sq ft office and life science campus home to the likes of Novartis, Autolus and Engitix. The campus is an ecosystem for media, technology, fashion and science companies seeking to innovate and grow, filled with ambitious people and new ideas.Forming part of the White City Innovation District, which includes Imperial College, Scale Space and Hammersmith Hospital, we have fully fitted CL2 grow-on laboratory units ready for occupation. The units range from 4,000 sq ft to 12,000 sq ft and come equipped with external exhaust fume cupboards, lab benches, tissue culture rooms and accompanying write-up spaces.

GENerX Life is a specialist leadership and talent advisory firm dedicated to the Life Sciences industry. Built alongside industry experts, we go beyond traditional search to provide strategic leadership solutions that drive long-term success. Our support strategy is built around three main pillars:Organisation As trusted advisors to Life Sciences companies, we provide expertise in organisational design, strategic board guidance, and leadership structuring. Our expert-led approach helps businesses navigate growth, investment, and transformation with confidence.Leadership We develop high-performing leaders through executive coaching, behavioural assessments, and leadership development programmes. Our tailored approach equips leaders to drive innovation, build resilient teams, and lead with impact.Talent Through state-of-the-art search and selection, we deliver Executive Search and Interim Management solutions, identifying leaders who not only meet technical requirements but also align with company culture, values, and strategic goals—ensuring lasting success.

Intellegens enables you to accelerate life science innovation. Apply advanced machine learning to find new product and process solutions, get to market faster, and break through R&D bottlenecks. Alchemite™ Suite offers easy-to-use apps focused on key challenges for chemists, biologists, formulators, data scientists, or their managers. Unlock insights hidden in your data. Guide decision-making. Reduce experimental workloads by 50-80%. Share results and collaborate across R&D teams. Based on a powerful algorithm with unique capabilities for real experimental and process data, Alchemite™ is proven for small molecule drug discovery, biopharmaceuticals, translational medicine, formulations and manufacturing, and clinical study design. For more information, visit the website:<a href="https://intellegens.com/lsinfo" title="https://intellegens.com/lsinfo" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://intellegens.com/lsinfo</a>LinkedIn tag:<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/intellegensai/" title="https://www.linkedin.com/company/intellegensai/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/company/intellegensai/</a>

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