| BIOSCIENCE TODAY |
www.biosciencetoday.co.uk
| foreword |
foreword Karen Southern Editor in chief
Editor Karen Southern karen.southern@distinctivegroup.co.uk
Design Distinctive Publishing, 3rd Floor, Tru Knit House, 9-11 Carliol Square, Newcastle, NE1 6UF Tel: 0191 580 5990 www.distinctivepublishing.co.uk
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Biotech stands at the brink of a new revolution It’s almost impossible to keep up with the breathtaking pace of progress in the field of bioscience, particularly biotech. Advances that seemed impossible only five short years ago are now mainstream, and revolutionary breakthroughs seem to pop up almost daily in my newsfeed. There’s no doubt that biotech is poised on the edge of a glittering golden era, and there’s much to celebrate, as evidenced by the pioneering longevity work of scientists such as Dr Eric Leire at Genflow Biosciences. His view - that age is just a number after all, and can be treated like any other disease – has ground-breaking implications for the health and wealth of our ageing societies. His work on transformative gene therapy seeks to repair the DNA damage which influences ‘bad’ ageing, and make growing older a happier, healthier experience for everyone. Good news indeed. The work of Dr Fiona McLaughlin at Avacta also addresses a critical healthcare gap – the lack of a durable response to current immunotherapies experienced by many cancer patients. Recently appointed to the role of Chief Scientific Officer
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in Avacta’s Therapeutics Division, Fiona and her colleagues have already laid the groundwork for first-in-class oncology treatments. Now for the downside (temporarily, at least). Biotech in Europe faces a number of challenges which hinder its deserved rise to the top of the global league. While the continent continues to forge ahead with brilliant R&D and entrepreneurship, well on par with its U.S. counterparts, it still lags behind when converting this priceless research treasure chest into tangible products. Thankfully, this lack of commercialisation is well recognised, and governments and industry are taking urgent steps to redress the balance. These include initiating stronger links between academia and industry, better access to funding and investment in Europe’s excellent pool of talent, and setting up innovative support frameworks such as the UK’s Industrial Biotechnology Strategy. With a sustained focus on growth, the future looks bright.
