Careful change

DEATH, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so

This week we had a debate on the future of healthcare at Philips Research. It is an topic where Cambridge has much to discuss.

We sit at the northern end of a London-Cambridge life sciences cluster which is the strongest in Europe. Major teaching hospitals linked to world-class research-intensive universities are the favoured test bed for new medical devices and pharmaceuticals, drawing some of the largest R&D spenders in the country to watch and learn. A long history of spin-outs and serial entrepreneurship from academics originally from the Universities in the region has reinforced this leadership. The new focus on biomarkers as an aid to delivery of personalized medicine promises better outcomes for patients and extended protection for phamaceutical companies who can show efficacy in targetted populations, but requires the skills in low-power electronics, communications and data analysis that our hi tech cluster can provide. And £1BN of investment into Addenbrookes to develop a much stronger local teaching hospital shows how serious both national and regional government are about supporting innovation here.

The specific topic was the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI). SBIR, it's American cousin, has an amazing track record. In the United States, 5% of purchasing budgets must be spent with small companies, to ensure that innovation is preserved despite the government focus on minimum cost.  Most successful high tech companies in the United States have been funded through SBIR at some point. And in the UK, the two government departments who have taken the lead on purchasing through SBRI are the Ministry of Defence and our own NHS East.

I was relieved when we only had 4 no-shows from the audience of 60. After 1,200+ web hits on the event page, and having to waitlist many members who tried to book at the last moment, it would have been galling to confess to friends that they would have had space. People had travelled long distances to be there, including Members such as Biotronics 3D, Ixico,  East of England Development Agency, Technology Strategy Board and UKTI and curious visitors such as GE Healthcare, GSK, Health Smart, Merck Serono and Philips Applied Technology. It was particularly impressive to see the CEO, the Director of Strategic Partnerships and the Director of Innovation from NHS East. These people run an organization that spends £8.1 billion annually on our health and is the largest employer in the region. To see them engage with the CEOs of our small Member companies shows an amazing commitment to innovation.

We are fortunate that Cambridge does have a strong point of view about innovation in healthcare, with so many well-informed and strongly interested parties in the room. David Connell and Stefan Scholtes of the Judge Business School have been heavily involved in SBRI and healthcare management for many years, and the Judge has always made a particularly strong contribution to healthcare. Kate Gill of NHS East drew on her own experience of introducing change into an organization where intensely motivated professionals with responsibility for life and death must collaborate with unfamiliar commercial partners. And Omer Casher brought GSK's learnings from their £25M collaboration with the Hammersmith Hospital on medical imaging.

But most of the action kicked off after the talks stopped. One small local company, Patients Know Best, has developed the only NHS-approved secure electronic patient record system, which is going into trials in Addenbrookes in September. Big pharmaceuticals and other small companies were keen to understand how their own technologies would link to this service. Larger Members like TTP, Philips Research, Mills & Reeve and Addenbrookes who organize the Healthcare Special Interest Group wanted to discuss the forward programme of events for the next year. It was hard to pick a way through the press to catch specific people - despite the fact that many of them had long journeys home.

It brings home to me how much Cambridge must contribute to Healthcare, and how fortunate we are to have a Membership who want to engage in that challenge and friends who want to visit us from across the Greater South East of England to help. Have a wonderful summer break - and look forward to seeing you all again for a busy Autumn term of activity.