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Opening of Apatech's Elstree facility

Lord Sainsbury of Turville,  Former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Science and Innovation
Elstree,  20 September 2006

Thank you for that kind introduction, Simon.

I am delighted to be here to help you celebrate the official opening of Apatech's new facility here at Elstree. This must be a very happy and satisfying occasion for those of you who have worked for many months on bringing this project to fruition; I would like to congratulate all those involved.

Apatech is a exactly the sort of company that the Government wants to see more of.  As you will have seen, going around, it combines good use of the science base with clever technology, and the ability to persuade venture capitalists to invest. Since its spin out from London and Cambridge Universities in 2001, it has gone from strength to strength, recently raising additional funding for further R&D.

I am excited by the research you will undertake here. Pore-Si, Apapore and Actifuse, are a new generation of synthetic bone graft materials that will undoubtedly help surgeons to improve clinical outcomes and patient quality of life. There is wide recognition that Orthopaedics is one of the fastest growing areas of medical devices, and an area in which the UK has particular strengths. Two of the major global players - Smith & Nephew and Johnson & Johnson - undertake substantial R&D and manufacturing in the UK. There are many innovative SMEs similar to yourselves. The UK has long had a strong tradition of clinical innovation in orthopaedics, and the Charnley hip is a particularly well-known UK success story. The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, located not far from here at Stanmore, is an internationally respected centre of excellence. The UK also has strong academic expertise in London, Cambridge and at many other Universities.

The UK is today an attractive location for fast growth high-tech companies for many reasons, not just as a means towards raising finance on the capital markets. Our Universities, research institutions and industry produce highly skilled bio-scientists and materials engineers. The Government believes access to skilled staff is a key priority for high-technology sectors.
 
We also have a rising level of young people studying for science and technology degrees. Today there are 120,000 more young people studying for science and technology degrees than in 1997/98 and the percentage of the total number of students taking science and technology degrees has gone up from 38% to 41%. These include large increases in those studying the biological sciences but also a 78% increase in those studying computer sciences and a welcome 38% increase in those studying mathematics.   We have seen a decline in some key subjects such as physics and chemistry but all the evidence shows that when we can convince young people that these subjects are relevant to the exciting industries of the future they take them up enthusiastically. 

In the UK, we regard the strength of our scientific and technological research as a major national asset. With only 1% of the world's population, we produce 5% of the world's science which generates 11% of the scientific papers and 12% of all the citations, including 13% of the most cited.

We also recognise the Government's role in strengthening the science base. As I'm sure you know, the Government has put major extra resources into basic research, increasing the science budget from £1.3 billion in 1997/8 to £3.4 billion by 2007/8. The Government has also set itself ambitious goals for the future in a 10 year Science and Innovation Investment Framework.   Also now building a successful record of innovation schemes.  In the past two years alone, 20 spin outs from UK universities who had IPOs, have floated on the stock market with a combined value of £1.3bn.

The Government's commitment to medical devices is also proved by the Healthcare Industries Task Force.
This joint industry/government task force identified the need for innovative solutions to respond effectively to the health and social care needs of an increasingly ageing population. Its recommendations are now being implemented. In particular, work is ongoing to develop a clear route to market for promising new medical products and technologies. The aim is to create "technology pull" and facilitate faster uptake by the NHS. 

I am pleased to say that DTI is also assisting the medical devices sector through our support for the Health Technologies Knowledge Transfer Network. The network will provide a range of activities and initiatives to enable the exchange of knowledge and the stimulation of business innovation in medical technology.

The Government is determined to provide the best possible conditions for companies such as yours to innovate and grow. We are also aware that in order to compete globally we need constantly to build on the UK's strengths and work to reduce and remove barriers to growth.

So, for all of these reasons, I am delighted to take part in these celebrations, and I congratulate you all for your vision, commitment and hard work, and it is with great pleasure I declare the facility open.