"The United Kingdom is a bio research and development (R&D) powerhouse with strengths in university-centered basic and applied research. In the future, it will strengthen AI and digital research to become an advanced scientific and technological power that confronts various diseases threatening humanity."
George Freeman, former Minister of the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT), noted in his address at the 'Bio & Digital Health Open Innovation' forum held in London on the 3rd (local time) that "the UK will collaborate with R&D powerhouses such as South Korea and Japan to tackle disease issues such as viral infectious diseases and aging-related diseases like diabetes and dementia." Freeman, who served as Minister in 2022, currently serves as the vice-chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee.
This forum, held over two days from the 3rd to the 4th, was co-hosted by the UK Department for Science, the Medical Research Council (MRC), and King's College London (KCL). The theme is 'Solving health and disease through bio and artificial intelligence (AI) technology and fostering open innovation.'
This forum marks the first meeting among South Korea, Japan, and the UK to share the latest technologies in the bio and digital health sectors and seek collaboration. South Korea is represented by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, while Japan is represented by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and pharmaceutical companies Eisai and Astellas.
The first day of the forum was held at The Royal Society. The Royal Society is the world's leading academic society, founded in London, UK, in 1660, with notable scholars including Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Albert Einstein. To date, over 280 Nobel Prize winners have been associated with the Royal Society.
On this day, the UK's bio and digital health R&D strategy was introduced. The UK is regarded as a global powerhouse in the pharmaceutical and bio industries, alongside the United States. The share of the healthcare sector in the R&D budget is 21% (5.41 trillion won), the second highest after the United States (28%, 43 trillion won). In particular, basic research centered around universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, and King's College London is robust. The proportion of the national R&D budget allocated to universities is 23.5%, the highest globally (as of 2020).
The UK is recently focusing heavily on AI research at universities. The government designated AI as a major scientific and technological area in 2023 and announced policies to nurture and support AI researchers through the UK Science and Technology Framework program. It plans to invest £2 billion (3.71 trillion won) over the next decade to train 900 doctoral students.
Mark Palmer, Director of the International Strategy at the Medical Research Council, said, "We started AI research with £300 million (556 billion won) funded by the government five years ago to integrate digital health technology into healthcare services," and noted, "We plan to nurture AI talent through the UK Science and Technology Framework."
The center of innovation in UK bio research is the suburban small town of Harwell, located about 100 km west of London. The Harwell Campus, opened in 2007, has attracted world-class universities, research institutions, and corporations in four fields: bio, space exploration, energy technology, and quantum computing. In the past decade, the Harwell Campus has produced over 400 R&D corporations and received over 6,000 patents in the last five years.
Currently, 30 universities from the UK and Europe are conducting research projects at the Harwell Campus. The American pharmaceutical company Moderna has also invested £150 million (280 billion won) to construct a new vaccine plant there. Moderna is the company that developed the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sebastian Johnson, Director of the Harwell Campus, stated, "The government is investing £500 million (1 trillion won) annually to transform the Harwell Campus into a hub for basic scientific research and original technology development," and added, "This place, as a center of open innovation, is not split into different fields but is a multidisciplinary cluster where cutting-edge technologies are integrated and advanced."