North East Life Sciences Conference 2022 - Reflections on a highly successful event

It makes sense, therefore, that the ambition is to put the North East well and truly on the Life Sciences Map. So, the question becomes, what is it that will put the North East on the map? What will the region be known for?

With one of the highest performing Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) teams in the country, the region is in pole position to take the UK lead on real-world implementation of health innovation. Of the 15 AHSNs across England, North East & North Cumbria is already the lead AHSN for a number of national programmes and has a track record of translating innovation into positive impact on patient pathways. How have they achieved this? Through a relentless focus on what they are asked to deliver, according to CEO Nicola Hutchinson.

Of particular note is the AHSN’s Digital Transformation work led by Dave Belshaw. There is no question that introducing digital innovation to patient pathways has the potential to generate the efficiencies and cost-savings the NHS so desperately needs. But the challenge of identifying the right solutions that will have the right impact from an abundance of possibilities, and then taking that leap to introduce them into such an established system can, more often than not, curb momentum. However, we heard many examples of where the AHSN’s Digital Transformation Team have supported innovators to navigate the hurdles and get the best ideas implemented – and they have the outcome numbers to prove it. In fact, the team’s Real World Evaluation model, presented by the AHSN’s Sean Gill, enables innovators to quantify the impact and outcome their intervention can have on a healthcare system.

This focus on implementation for the region is highly relevant because one of the most striking insights on the day was the extent of health inequality in the region. Sam Allen, Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed North East North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) described how life expectancy drops as much as 10 years over just three stops on the subway. As a leader, Sam was crystal clear about the challenge and called for the industry to pledge their commitment to improving the health of the people of the North East.

As if tackling the health equality of the region wasn’t a big enough mission, the IHB are leveraging the AHSN’s track record of implementing innovation and working in partnership with them to realise their goal of becoming the cleanest, greenest healthcare region in the UK by 2030. Again, this ambitious goal is well founded. Dr Clare Winter is the Senior Net Zero Programme Manager for the ICB and, having specialised in environmental sustainability over the last 15 years, already has a track record of implementing in a number of initiatives that have demonstrated real carbon savings and won national recognition.

The contribution of the North East’s life sciences sector stretches way beyond the A66 thanks to its world class capabilities in scaling processes and manufacturing. The UK’s Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) is a founding member of the UK Government’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult and the North East region is home to a number of its facilities including the new National Biologics Manufacturing Centre in Darlington. Combine this with the established pharmaceutical manufacturing scene in the region that we heard represents as much as half of the pharmaceutical manufacturing employment in the UK, and you’ve got yourself a very exciting and very relevant strength in the region.Scaling and manufacturing are critical to the life sciences industry for three reasons: it’s the foundation to growing the industry, it’s the hard part to figure out and it’s fundamental to sustainability.

The UK has an abundance of academic institutions churning out world-class research in life sciences and always has done. Some of this research is game-changing and can be translated into a product or service through a commercial entity, such as a large multinational or a new company dedicated to realising the vision. The problem is, there are no limitations to where this translational research goes in the world and the reality is, much of it will end up in other countries where there are facilities to scale ad manufacture. Historically the UK enjoyed the short-term economic benefits of exporting research, but without the development and manufacturing happening here, there are limits to how much the UK industry can serve the UK people themselves. Never was this needed more than during the Covid19 pandemic. Indeed, one of the most important legacies of the vaccines work during the pandemic was the recognition of this part of the industry.

Even when a new UK company is created to translate academic research into practice, things start getting really challenging (and expensive) when scaling from the lab to the quantities required in the real world. That’s because biology is very unpredictable and is notorious for behaving differently in different environments. What researchers once observed on their lab bench can disappear when the process is replicated at scale. The scaling process, therefore, must occur in stages with multiple iterations to ensure the right quantity with the right quality – and most small companies don’t have the facilities to do this in house so need to use specialised process facilities.

This is why the CPI and its specialised manufacturing facilities are so critical to the UK. Without them, game-changing research would have to relocate to other countries in order to realise its potential.

It goes beyond healthcare too; CPI and organisations such as Teesside University’s National Horizon Centre in Darlington, are driving processes to become cleaner thanks to expertise in digitalisation. As Dave Berry from the CPI and Mark Corbett from the National Horizon Centre described, when you know the process well enough you can start identifying opportunities to increase efficiencies, reduce time and reduce carbon footprint through digitalisation. This is the future of the industry, and it creates a tremendous opportunity for life sciences professionals to develop an entirely new talent that will make a difference not only to healthcare but also to the climate challenge.

If innovation is so important, what about the innovators themselves? We heard from four companies that have started and grown in the NorthEast region and what was clear from each experience was the support they have received from the ecosystem. The businesses are thriving and many are serving large multinationals from their HQ in the North East. We even heard how one start-up has translated postgraduate research into a product that has secured one of the highest growth brands in the world as a client – and they travel to Newcastle to visit them. As Dr Marie Labus, CEO of AMLo Biosciences explained, yes, there are many challenges to starting and growing a life sciences business such as investment, scaling and getting the right people, but none of these challenges are specific to the North East. They are ubiquitous across the industry.

So, how will the North East put itself well and truly on the Life Sciences map? By focussing on its specific strengths, suggested an audience member from an innovative start-up. Those strengths were clear to see at the conference; the ability to implement health innovation and quantify the impact, leadership that leads to demonstrable Carbon Savings and world-class process and manufacturing capabilities. Steve Bagshaw CBE told us the North East has always been great at making things. I think we can now see that the North East is also great at making things happen.