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Welcoming the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report Bridging the valley of death: improving the commercialisation of research, Steve Bates, BioIndustry Association (BIA) Chief Executive Officer, said:
“I’m glad to see the Select Committee highlighted the issue of ‘bridging the valley of death’ as a key challenge for innovative companies to the UK government.
“It’s good to see this unanimous report supported by MPs from all sides of the House recognise the value of the Strategy for UK Life Sciences, the Biomedical Catalyst scheme and plans for an Early Access scheme for life science companies – all policies we have worked to deliver.
“We’re glad the Committee recognised the issue that university technology transfer offices and businesses often have different perceptions of the value of IP, which we raised, and welcome the recommendation to assess the Easy Access IP experiment.
“We welcome the strong recommendations to ensure research hospitals have the funding they need to develop and deliver innovative solutions to patients.
“The BIA agrees with the Science and Technology Committee that government should ensure that sufficient ‘patient capital’ is available for growing innovative businesses. To this end, the BIA believes that the government should introduce Citizens’ Innovation Fund (CIFs) to unlock the patriotic potential of the British public to support emerging innovative businesses which are essential for the jobs and growth vital to Britain’s economic future.”
