ON eNews
January 2021
Paying it Forward in 2021 Welcome to the first One Nucleus eNews of 2021 and Happy New Year to everyone. Like most people writing such an introduction, the first thoughts would be to start with a brief review of highlights from the previous year, whether highlights for the sector or of our own activities. Whilst there was plenty to celebrate and congratulate others for in terms of the sector’s achievements in such adversity and I am very proud of the One Nucleus team for adapting our activities quickly and effectively to deliver the member support, I will take subsequent opportunities to reflect on those highlights further in slower time when the dust has settled. In this brief welcome, I feel it more useful for our readers to look ahead to the coming year and how our activities will seek to learn lessons from the challenges of 2020. One phrase that I was not familiar with until a couple of months back was ‘paying it forward’ as a means of not repaying an act of kindness directly back to the originator, but to carry it forward to do a kind deed to someone else in need of support. Considering it further, then I see examples all around our sector. This sentiment I intend to adhere to personally and to run as a thread through One Nucleus activities where possible. Looking ahead, I am excited by plans for 2021 and beyond. Some of these will be described in more detail later in this issue, but you will see we have tried to learn from the enforced disruption and now seek to pay it forward where we can. Paying it forward came to my attention in response to seeking advice about how to enable and support early career students and researchers in developing their careers. We have increasingly worked with our network to support them in recruiting the best talent and create the best careers where possible. The challenges of Brexit, the pandemic effect, evolving R&D practices to require different skills and means demand for talent is huge. We need to thus enthuse new skills and talent to this exciting sector of ours. On March 30th – 31st we will deliver and online careers conference “Building Life Science Adventures”. No intention to be a jobs fair or lesson to students on ‘how to write a good cv’, but absolutely aimed at bringing early career scientists and life science employers together to discuss what works and what doesn’t for either side of the equation. No better way to pay it forward perhaps than to engage in sharing advice with and listening to the next generation of leaders. We will be seeking supporters of the event at a modest cost to enable us to deliver the event free of charge to those who can benefit most, but equally to inform and help our companies develop as employers of choice.
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We are excited to be launching our Virtual Innovation Centre towards the end of the month and taking on board the feedback from members throughout the past months to retain a mix of events in our calendar. Some, like the BioWednesdays remaining online indefinitely given the excellent and wider engagement we have seen, with others returning to face-to-face when possible as everyone seeks to recapture the serendipitous networking it has proven challenging to fully replace online. These peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and networking opportunities being an ideal vehicle to continue your paying it forward generosity. Considering our main conferences, ON Helix and Genesis, we plan to return to modified face-to-face for these in an updated format provided we are able. Taking the lessons on board however, such as this week’s poll where over 50% of respondents indicated they would prefer a combination of face-to-face with online engagement around it in the future. I am not a great fan of the true hybrid event although do see the benefits of enabling remote attendance through a form of digital pass. We feel we have come up with a format that meets these aspirations, so do watch this space! It was great to see so many members take up the 3-month membership extension we offered in the Spring and we have appreciated your experimenting with us on how to get the most out of online events and services provided. Paying that forward to remaining and future members, we will be offering all members a free digital pass to each of our main events this coming year. I am sure all of us as citizens will be considering the kindness and benefits to us all that were delivered by keyworkers and those from our sector placed in the spotlight for their work on Covid-19. Not sure how such gratitude is sufficiently paid forward. The same gratitude not so often recognised so openly can be offered to those discovering, developing and delivering new treatments that improve patient outcomes in other health conditions. Our sector has an amazing core purpose in which we can all be proud to play even a small part is my view. Working in such a meaningful and dynamic sector, having the exciting activities above and more to talk about and of course able to work with some great colleagues, I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t be keen to join us! One Nucleus is seeking to recruit a Marketing Manager for maternity cover. If that is for you or someone we know, we’d love to be in contact. Best wishes for a safe, happy and successful 2021! Tony Jones CEO One Nucleus
If starting-up a life science company is hard, growing it comes with exponential challenges: finding lab space, growing a team or raising significant investment, to name a few. Through providing the local, UK-wide and international connectivity, One Nucleus seeks to enable our members to maximise their performance. It is therefore a natural development to formalise this support into a structured programme: the Virtual Innovation Centre. The Virtual Innovation Centre will offer an exclusive programme to help Life Science companies as they develop and become increasingly operational in areas including winning larger investment rounds, building partnerships, internationalisation, establishing laboratory facilities, building teams, outsourcing or accessing business support. Because the strength of One Nucleus sits in its extensive network of expertise among its Sponsors, Partners and Members we are delighted to count many of them as supporters of the Virtual Innovation Centre including:
Designed as a 12-month programme of informative workshops, seminars and one-to-one advice it will be made available to a selected group of companies in the post start-up phase. Applications are now open for a programme starting in Spring. Eligibility criteria are mainly based on the relevance of the programme for the companies including a minimum of 12 months post incorporation and primary business focus on internal R&D or R&D Services. Although there is no cost attached to the programme, companies must be a One Nucleus gold member’ to be considered. If you would like to discuss how the Virtual Innovation Centre could support your company growth and apply to the first programme, please contact Aline. Growing Your Company to Scale-up Success Webinar – 27 January How Can a Virtual Innovation Centre Help You? If you’d like more insight on how to grow a Life Science company, this event will be an opportunity to hear from seasoned Life Science innovation executives who have had careers building and supporting nascent Life Science businesses. It will also present the One Nucleus Virtual Innovation Centre plans and how to get involved. Registration is free and can be done here.
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BioNewsRound Award Winner A huge congratulations to our Genesis 2020 BioNewsRoundAward winner Abcam!
Each of our six finalists presented pitch videos to conference delegates. Voting was open during the conference on 10 December, with the winner announced during the closing session. Abcam’s CFO, Michael Baldock, was virtually there to accept the award. Find out more about their Offering on NASDAQ here.
We’re Hiring! One Nucleus is seeking to recruit a part-time Marketing Manager for maternity cover. Role overview: Manage the One Nucleus branding and digital content, electronic communications, publications and event materials. Support other team members with their marketing needs. Manage the One Nucleus social media channels (Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube). Lead on collaboration with external parties related to marketing. Find out more here.
On-Demand Content Since the beginning of the first lockdown, we have held all of our events digitally with recordings of each made available to members. See below for a short list of what is available and click here for the full list and how to access. • All sessions from ON Helix 2020. Programme can be found here • All sessions from Genesis 2020. Programme can be found here • SLAS and One Nucleus Webinar Series: Turn Your Lab Automation Plans Into Action • Life Science Marketing Group: Virtually Challenging Events • Impact of the US Elections on Financial Markets Webinar • Career Pathways Webinar: Progressing to Senior Lab and Non-Lab Based Roles • BioWednesday Webinar: Leading Teams Through Uncertainty • BioWednesday Webinar: How Will Covid-19 Influence Site Selection for Future Trials?
Upcoming Webinars & Digital Events One Nucleus Events 19 Jan | Life Science Marketing Group: Employees Are the Best Brand Champions - register 27 Jan | Growing Your Company to Scale-up Success. How Can a Virtual Innovation Centre Help You? - register 03 Feb | BioWednesday Webinar - register 15 Feb | Life Science Marketing Group: Clarity From Complexity - Essential Tips to Sharpen Your Message - register 03 Mar | BioWednesday Webinar - register 18 Mar | Life Science Marketing Group: The Five Main Reasons That Life Science Lead Generation Campaigns Fail (And What You Can Do To Fix Them) - register 30-31 Mar | Careers Conference - Save the Date
One Nucleus Training Courses 27 Jan | ONLINE Introduction to Drug Discovery: From Idea to Clinical Candidate - register 11 Feb | Biological Safety: Management and Practice (IOSH Approved) - register
Industry Events 11-15 Jan | Member Discount Available: Biotech Showcase Digital 2021 - find out more 12 Jan | Pitchfest - East of England - find out more 14 Jan | Transforming chemistry-using industries with Digital Molecular Technologies (DMT) - find out more 14 Jan | J A Kemp Webinar: Priority Entitlement in Europe – Current Best Practice - find out more 14 Jan | Digital Innovation in Libraries and Archives: EIRA Hothouse - find out more 18 Jan | From Biodata to Digital Medicine: Developing Data-Driven Innovations (Virtual) - find out more 22-25 Mar | Member Discount Available: BIO-Europe Spring 2021 - find out more
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Member Blog Highlight Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: What is Blockchain Technology? Blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies are rapidly expanding throughout the world – and with that rapid expansion has come a growing interest in IP protection for blockchain and cryptocurrency inventions. USPTO statistics confirm blockchain’s ascendance. As of July 2020, roughly 7,600 applications containing the word “blockchain” had been filed, up from only 37 in 2014.
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Deal of the Month Artios Pharma and Merck KGaA Sign a Global Strategic Collaboration To conclude 2020 on a positive note, December saw a major deal concluded between the Cambridge biotech specialised in DNA Damage Response, Artios Pharma and the German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA worth $30M in up-front and near-term payment. The deal also includes double-digit option fees and up to US$860 million total milestones per target – 8 in total. This is a major step in advancing really promising precision oncology medicines targeting nucleases and a great recognition of Artios’ expertise in the space.
Taylor Wessing Insights What the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement Means for Pharma and Medical Device Companies Product Regulation: For pharma and medical device companies the TCA includes provisions affecting their businesses but does not contain wholesale mutual recognition of regulatory regimes, as some might have hoped. For the time being these products will be regulated in the UK separately from the EU, and companies will need to comply with both sets of requirements. Find out more here.