While we started the online presence of British Expats in Life Sciences as BELSgroup.com, it has become increasingly clear that forging stronger connectivity is core to what BELS is all about. We have therefore made a decision to reflect this in our communications, including: BELSconnector.org, our new URL which incorporates connector and .org to better reflect …
It’s been a welcome reassurance for this inveterate UK cheerleader that we continue to navigate assorted speed bumps and are productively staying the course with our life science strategy. In 2015, this UK sector continued its renaissance with £1.26 billion being raised on the UK stock market, the highest figure in more than a decade …
By all accounts, BELS inaugural event in the UK, The Alumni Summit, held July 9-10 2015 in Oxford, was a resounding success. Attendees from the UK and abroad offered extremely positive feedback. We checked in with the expats six months on and found that exciting progress is being delivered, discussions are happening, and projects are …
About this time last year, I penned a blog entitled “Great Expectations for UK Health and Life Sciences”, which was a bit of a retrospective of 2014 and a call to dare to live up to our ‘Great’ image. Well 2015 did nothing to diminish the continuing progress of the UK health and life science …
2015 – Another GREAT year for UK life science progress Read More »
This year’s Nobel Prize announcements catalysed a knee jerk reaction from commentators, a lament that Brits were enjoying their success from other international venues rather than in the UK – yet another example of the classic “brain drain”. We would counter that such news should be viewed much more positively. In a Daily Telegraph article …
When we last wrote in July, we were heading to the Alumni Summit in Oxford, our first event in the UK and a major milestone for British Expats in Life Sciences (BELS). An impressive array of overseas alumni, most of them UK expats, gathered in glorious summer conditions at the Saïd Business School at the …
This week sees a major milestone for BELS with the Alumni Summit in Oxford at the Saïd Business School. Part of our vision is that our talented life science expats and overseas alumni of UK institutions feel connected to the UK health and life sciences and want to stay engaged throughout their careers. There are …
With an election upcoming on May 7, we have entered the approximately six-week period that we quaintly call “purdah”. For many, the word is a mystery. It can have the following definitions: 1) “ the practice among women in certain Muslim and Hindu societies of living in a separate room or behind a curtain, or of dressing in …
Thankfully, and almost in an un-British way, our health and life sciences sector is catching the enthusiasm bug in 2015. It seemed that half the UK industry decamped briefly to the Bay Area for JP Morgan last month where Kate Bingham from SV Life Sciences pointedly told US investors that they really did need to …
With the life science industry’s recent congregation for its annual kickoff around the JP Morgan meetings in San Francisco, it seems an appropriate time to reflect a little on 2014, cover off some recent UK developments of note, and look at where we hope to take BELS (British Expats in Life Sciences) in 2015. The vibrancy of …
Great Expectations for UK Health & Life Sciences in 2015 Read More »
Having celebrated Thanksgiving with extended family members (with a nod to my British heritage we ate beef instead of turkey!), I have crammed a couple of weeks of news and observations into this edition. Although one wonders why we don’t keep things simple with one Budget a year, the recent Autumn Statement was the last …
Certainly a busy time in the UK with a host of meetings taking place run by the likes of the Financial Times, ABPI (Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry), Consilium Healthcare, Jefferies and Number 10. The big news was announcement of a government review of how new treatments and medical devices are developed and adopted …
The realities of life within the European Union came to roost in three specific ways last week. First, with Germany leading international opposition to the scheme, the UK was forced to slightly water down its Patent Box initiative that had become a key attraction for overseas entities, both in terms of locating business in the …
The Week That Was in UK Health & Life Sciences– 17/11/14 Read More »
A few challenging looks at the industry from the UK last week caught the eye. Be sure to check out our UK News postings. The Guardian reported an investigation that found Shire uses a chain of internal loans from Ireland and Luxembourg to lower its tax bill. An in-depth report illustrates this activity by pointing …
The Week that Was in UK Health & Life Sciences 11/11/14 Read More »
While the world has fretted about the spectre of Ebola in our midst and the terrible impact on Africa, the issue of antibiotic resistance has remained very much at the forefront of a number of governments and global organisations like the WHO. A key issue has been how to make R&D surrounding antibiotics financially viable, …
The week that was in UK Life Sciences – 3 November 2014 Read More »
