A unique wargame, drawing on the most modern techniques used to improve strategic expertise in the military, will be run to tackle the current lack of funding which is threatening the health of the UK’s biotechnology sector. The wargame is the brainchild of the Bioscience Futures Forum and will be played by some of the most influential figures from across the biotech sector. The aim is to find innovative solutions to the increasing problems of investment in the UK’s biotechnology industry, particularly compared with that in the U.S. The game will take place on the July 14-15, 2008, and will be run by wargame specialists from Simulstrat.
The UK’s biotechnology industry is in critical need of fast and effective actions to address the growing lack of investment in this highly important sector to the UK. A significant number of biotech companies have less than twelve months cash left to fund their research programs. In addition, despite the UK being the European leader in university biotechnology research and start-ups, accounting for 40% of new pharmaceuticals being developed across Europe, UK companies are finding it increasingly difficult to make the progression from fledgling firms to successful integrated biotechnology companies. The U.S. boasts 50 biotech companies which have reached a market capitalization of over $1 billion in comparison to two in the UK. The resulting situation is that the UK biotechnology sector is not fulfilling its potential. This has significant implications for the development of new medicines to benefit patients, families, society and the UK economy.
The UK Biotech Business Development Wargame has therefore been designed to generate and test innovative ideas to change the investment climate. The wargame will take place in London with the participation of senior members of the biotech community from both the U.S. and the UK. The game will simulate the progression of a commercially funded biotech company whose valuation is assessed by the results of its clinical trials. The game will comprise four major moves that will take the teams from company conception through the end of Phase III trials to become an integrated biotech company.
Gill Samuels CBE, chair of the BFF comments, “Without sustained investment the UK biotechnology sector will find it impossible to convert innovative bioscience into new medicines. The wargame will provide new insights into what has become an entrenched problem around financing the industry in the UK and we believe this has the potential to make a significant contribution to its future. We look forward to the wargame as a first step in establishing an agenda for change.”
Professor Michael Clarke, director of the Royal United Services Institute and a founder of Simulstrat says, “Wargaming is becoming an essential part of business strategy creation and where could it be more appropriate to use this innovative technique than in one of the UK’s most innovative industries?”
