Publication
21 Nov 2023 ·
International
Rolling out the red carpet for life sciences’ innovation
3 min read
Regulatory flexibility and legal expertise are key components to life sciences innovations reaching their full potential.
A landmark Forum that brought together key figures from the pharmaceutical industry, biotech, law, AI, start-ups and academia shared insights on the need to revise statutory approaches to liberate transformative advances.
CMS’s Global Life Sciences & Healthcare Forum 2023, Blurring Boundaries – Exploring the convergence of life sciences and law heard a keynote address from Annemiek Verkamman, Managing Director of Hollandbio, calling for greater collaboration across life sciences and the law.
She emphasised that game-changing discoveries in the laboratory, transformative medical devices and new applications for AI were being held up not by doubts over their efficacy but by regulations that were created for a much slower, and less significant, R&D landscape.
“You can have great ideas, and many people in our sector are the brightest minds, but if you're not able to bring these innovations to the market, we won't benefit,” said Annemiek, whose organisation represents more than 270 Dutch life sciences companies from start-ups to large pharmaceutical enterprises.
“To bring an innovation from the lab to the society is very difficult, which brings a lot of hurdles and especially for the frontrunners in biotech.”
She highlighted issues around the use of organoids – stem cell cultures derived that provide fresh insights into the mechanisms of disease on human tissue – stating: “The potential is enormous but are we able to do it? Are we allowed and are we willing? These questions are coming up in biotech innovation all the time.”
Annemiek also stressed that 70% of innovative life sciences products need regulatory approval while a report from analysts McKinsey commented that Europe’s fragmented regulatory market was a drag on progress.
“The system is not ready for the future,” she observed.
Integrating healthcare systems, smoothing out cross-geography bumps and navigating regulatory systems will advance the potential of life sciences to change lives, improve societal health and sustainability and boost innovation from start-ups through the R&D cycle so they can reach patients faster.
“That’s where we need you guys. We need you to help and make it possible,” said Annemiek, addressing the legal and regulatory audience at the Forum in Amsterdam. “How can we make these innovations happen because a lot of people in my sector know the system is not working. We need your in-depth knowledge, creativity and experience to roll out the red carpet for innovation.”
Nick Beckett, Global Co-Head of CMS Life Sciences & Healthcare Sector Group, commented: “The Forum highlighted how important life sciences innovation is, not just to those involved in it, but to the wider society and how legal aspects are a crucial element of progress.
“The need for collaboration and a dynamic approach to legal and regulatory issues is something we focus on strongly and it is evident that it goes hand-in-hand with innovation.”
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