Lord David Willetts
The Rt Hon. Lord Willetts FRS, HonFREng is Chair of the UK Space Agency and of the Government’s Regulatory Innovation Office. He served as the Member of Parliament for Havant (1992-2015), as Minister for Universities and Science (2010-2014) and previously worked at HM Treasury and the No. 10 Policy Unit. He has held a range of Board positions across the Space and Science sector, including at Surrey Satellites. He was a member of the ESA Expert Group on the Future of Space in Europe, as well as the Space Advisory Board of the EU’s External Action Service. He currently sits on the Advisory Council of the European Space Policy Institute and chairs the Foundation for Science and Technology.
SynBioVen
Scaling SynBio: Investment Strategies from Lab to Market
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Transitioning synthetic biology innovations from the lab to commercial scale requires strategic investment, robust infrastructure, and cross-sector collaboration. This session explores the financial and operational challenges of scaling the bioeconomy in the UK and Europe, highlighting key funding mechanisms, investor perspectives, and case studies of successful scale-ups. Join this session to understand the investment landscape, technology readiness, and market adoption and hear insights for startups and stakeholders looking to bridge the gap between research and commercialization.
Making It Happen: Accelerating the Global Bioeconomy:
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This panel will bring together leaders across industry, public sector and the community to examine the systemic barriers slowing the bioeconomy’s growth and ask, “What best practices are we seeing to unlock progress?” Despite breakthroughs in synbio—including recent our findings showing 96% of businesses are advancing biosolutions—progress remains stalled by discovery costs, scaling challenges, regulatory uncertainty, and investment bottlenecks. Join this session to understand how these challenges are being overcome to ensure synbio moves from future predictions to large-scale impact. The discussion will focus on tangible actions to accelerate this transition and realize the full economic promise of the bioeconomy.
