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WCID Engineering Biology leaders at Downing Street reception

Image showing attendees gathered outside 10 Downing Street for an engineering biology networking reception. Image copyrighted to BioIndustry Association (BIA).

Innovators from White City Innovation District were invited to attend a key Engineering Biology investment networking breakfast at 10 Downing Street this week.

The event – which was hosted by the Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology Andrew Griffith MP and the Minister for Investment Lord Dominic Johnson of Lainston CBE (Department for Business and Trade) – brought together the engineering and biotech investment community and government officials with leading industry figures and companies in the UK engineering biology ecosystem. Attendees included the BioIndustry Association and White City Innovation District’s Solena Materials and Sixfold Bioscience (both based at I-HUB).

In a lively roundtable discussion, industry stakeholders discussed the barriers and unique opportunities ahead in biotech investment. Professor Paul Freemont (Department of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London) was invited to deliver a speech at the reception, in which he gave his analysis of the vibrant UK engineering biology landscape and highlighted some of the transformative companies that are poised to revolutionise multiple industries worldwide.

Last year, the UK Government published its landmark ‘National Vision for Engineering Biology‘ policy paper, detailing its plans to spur the growth of the critical engineering biology sector – under the leadership of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) – and cement the UK’s position as a world leader in the field. The paper outlined the government’s plan to invest £2 billion over the next decade to help realise the potential of engineering biology, spanning advances from lifesaving mRNA vaccines and cultivated meat to pioneering sustainability innovations.