Day 1, April 28th 2021

A Regional R&D Ecosystem for Personalising Health Industry – Spotlight on the Free State of Saxony

It is well recognised that a thriving R&D ecosystem is a facilitator and an important resource for innovation in almost any scientific field. The concept of the R&D innovation ecosystem implies that academic R&D-related innovation potential feeds into the industry and vice versa. Relations are manifold, with proximity and closer social contacts between actors and supporting structures ´such as tech transfer and cluster organisations serving as catalysers. These ecosystems may enhance industry development by providing essential R&D infrastructures for personalised medicine and health, as much as by generating qualified human resources. A well-functioning regional R&D ecosystem may offer high-tech services on one hand, and on the other guidance by generating role models for entrepreneurship and the translation of scientific breakthroughs into tangible innovative products.

Day 2, May 19th, 2021

Regional Translational Ecosystems Supportive of Personalising Health Industry

Bringing innovation from the R&D phase to the market requires translational and frequently also entrepreneurial efforts. However, to realize these has long been identified as a bottleneck resulting in a valley of death for many projects. To pass this gap, it has been proposed and discussed, to reduce the risk profile of new ventures and translational activities by providing comprehensive early-stage support schemes and structures. De-risking is also seen as an important strategy to counteract the lack of risk capital availability throughout Europe. Though this idea is not entirely novel, as the first business incubators for the life sciences were already set up in the late 90s in Europe, the concepts have been developed further and become more refined, and relevant expertise has grown as structures have institutionalised and professionalised.

The program of the Workshop is based on the Conference on “Personalising Health Industry” that was held in October 2020.

If you’d like to know what was discussed, the recordings of the event can be found right here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLouPT0Qs67pAx4tE-_ii6JSpJislDZIAm