The Health Innovation Partnership Scott Johnstone Scottish Lifesciences Association
Scottish Lifesciences Association CEO Scott Johnstone Scottish LifeSciences Landscape Health Innovation Partnership
Overview Scottish Lifesciences Association formed in January 2011 Position - an influential advocate for the sustained growth of Scottish life sciences Mission - to promote a positive economic, political and social environment in which Scottish life sciences can flourish
SLA strategic aims To unify and connect members throughout the life sciences cluster in Scotland and beyond through strong networking activity in the Special Interest Groups; To sustain the status of life sciences as a key sector of the Scottish economy; Advocacy to Government on behalf of members about specific life sciences issues and resolving them.
Membership Currently over 130 Members Target membership life sciences companies and organisations with growth aspirations 12 Investor members SLA fully funded by members subscriptions Contracted by the Scottish Government to deliver the Health Innovation Partnership
SLA SLA Engagement with members through 18 Special Interest Groups and sub-groups Regulatory and Quality: works closely with regulatory authorities (SLA has representatives on all MHRA Consultative Committees, raising members regulatory issues as needed); discussion of cross cutting quality issues. Notified Body subgroup working with the MHRA on the capacity issue Qualified Persons: SLA QP members forum for helping each other keep up to date on issues and regulations. Business Development: SLA members helping each other grow their businesses; exchange of information and experience across a very broad range of issues. Recent MoUs signed with Kentucky Life Sciences Council and Indiana Health Industry Forum with all members of KLSC/IHIF members of SLA and vice versa. Directors Forum: Member organisations Directors discussing top management issues of relevance e.g. R&D Tax Credit enhancement
SLA SLA Special Interest Groups (cont d) HR: skills agenda; aligning Universities, Colleges and Schools output with Industry need for skills; employability; and the curriculum change. Engagement with Schools. Universities subgroup on Graduate Employability Innovation: IP Protection; working with Universities and Scottish Funding Council on Easy Access IP, the Single Knowledge Exchange Office and ownership of IP. Scottish LifeSciences Innovation Partnership subgroup on inter-company innovation Finance: Making Scotland an attractive place for LifeSciences businesses (SLA has 12 Investor members and a finance tutorial programme).
SLA Special Interest Groups (cont d) SLA Digital Health: fast growing area attracting investment; Developing policy in conjunction with the Government Diagnostics/Medical Devices: Support for exporting; Health Innovation Partnership with NHS to deepen company engagement with NHS. Medicines: Helping drug development companies on R&D; clinical studies; engagement with NHS on market access. Cell Therapy: increasing commercial traction; regulation of new therapies.
SLA SLA Special Interest Groups (cont d) Manufacturing and Automation: members pooling automation experience. Precision Medicine: Working with the Stratified Medicines Innovation Centre to provide Industry Leadership on programmes. WISDOM: a source of guidance and support particularly, but not exclusively, for women in life science businesses, for those at executive level, to new starts.
Engagement with Government Formation of the Health Innovation Partnership with NHS Scotland to provide a mechanism for companies to engage with clinicians of product development and procurement Frequent policy and tactical engagement with Government (Ministers and officials) Scotland and UK Engagement mostly with Holyrood, but also with Westminster on reserved issues (e.g. Brexit and SLA sits on 5 MHRA Consultative Committees) SLA forged consensus on potential shape of national life sciences regulatory structures post Brexit and now with Notified Body issues