ChEMBL

We are, of course, all New Internationalists, but the progress towards international cooperation and development is built on the shoulders and actions of the component nations. Recently the current UK Government has made some substantial changes in the organisation of the internal activities of the government, and established the Office For Life Sciences, which itself is part of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (or BIS as it is becoming colloquially known).

The OLS have recently published a blueprint to support broad life science and health businesses which strikes a collaborative and supportive tone in an area where previously government and industry may have squabbled. The document can be downloaded here, and it strikes me as a remarkably well joined-up attempt at trying to square the interests of health care innovators, the consumers, and even potentially patients and employees. Secondly, the communication of the components of this strategy have been executed in a masterly way. The sound bites that have permeated the UK media in the past few days have included the '£1.5B Innovation Investment Fund', the 'Rapid Access to Breakthrough Medicines' and so forth.

There are many pointers towards the translation of blue-sky research, and the way that research is judged, with greater emphasis on wealth creation; there is a hope that academia will provide much of the future innovation and breakthroughs in health care, but to me, one of the key things missing from this blueprint is the framework for this academia to product translation, and the lack of involvement of key academic stakeholders in the committees and so forth. Additionally, the mechanism for the allocation of the £150M, for that is what the fund currently is, does not sound particularly transparent. However, I'm sure when all the details are in place, all will be well.

The document is well worth reading, and contains many interesting ideas, not just for a UK setting, but potentially for a broader international community.