Lord Sainsbury of Turville

OPENING OF INION'S EUROPEAN TECHNICAL CENTRE

It is an excellent example of international collaboration that draws together the best of Finnish innovation and scientific excellence with a dynamic, sizeable and competitive market place here in the UK. Your IPO on the London Stock Exchange was the first for a Finnish company - and is a ringing endorsement of London’s position at the heart of the global financial community - with over 430 international companies from 59 countries around the world listed and traded on the exchange. £231bn of capital was raised on the London Stock Exchange in 2002, more than any other international financial centre anywhere in the world. Of course, we hope that your decision to list here will be repeated by other Finnish companies interested in raising capital on London’s markets. Certainly if they do, they will receive a very warm welcome.

I am excited too by the research you will undertake here. I was fascinated to see that your devices have been fitted in over 1000 patients in the UK. Biodegradable medical implants have the potential to revolutionise many areas of surgical practice, and to transform the lives of patients undergoing reconstructive surgery. For many years surgeons have relied on metal as the principal substance for orthopaedic implants, but the idea of using biodegradable polymers that incorporate bone growth factors to actively promote new bone growth and accelerate the healing process is both novel and exciting.

By establishing your European Technical Centre at the Cambridge Science Park, you are becoming part of arguably the most exciting high-tech cluster in Europe. Today, Cambridge is home to over 200 biotechnology companies, 20% of the world’s Nobel prize winners in medicine and chemistry, 17 of the UK’s publicly quoted biotechnology companies, and a quarter of the top 50 publicly quoted biotech companies in Europe. Biotechnology companies in the region have over 70 products in clinical development, which is more than any other individual country in Europe.

The UK is an attractive location for 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.

In the UK, we also 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 are second only to the USA for total Nobel Prize winners and have a proud history of discovery including penicillin and the double helix.

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.

However, if we in the UK do 5% of the world’s science, it follows that 95% is done elsewhere, and we believe that if we are to stay at the cutting edge of modern science we need to collaborate internationally which is why I am so pleased to be here at this opening today.

In the past knowledge transfer and applied research were weaknesses of the UK’s innovation system, but that is all changing. We have allocated £320m over three years to the Technology Strategy Programme, which is managed by an industry-led Technology Strategy Board. We have also introduced R&D tax credits for small and large companies to incentivise them to do more research and these are now worth £600m per year to businesses. And we have also introduced our version of the highly successful SBIR scheme in the U.S.A., which requires Government Departments to allocate 2.5% of their research budgets to small businesses.

We have also set up a Medical Devices Knowledge Transfer Network. The Knowledge Transfer Networks are designed to stimulate innovation in the UK’s key technology sectors by promoting collaboration, best practice and knowledge –sharing between industry and universities. DTI has allocated £40m to these networks, which include materials, bioprocessing and industrial biotechnology.

The Government’s commitment to medical devices is also proved by the Healthcare Industries Task Force. This 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. One of the major outcomes has been development of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement. It will address precisely the Task Force’s aim of capturing useful innovation and bringing it into use quickly throughout the NHS. The Institute will focus on transformation of services and procedures, on leadership development, and on learning to ensure staff have the appropriate skills to accelerate organization and individual growth and change. The National Innovation Centre, one of the Task Force’s outputs, is incorporated within the Institute.

The Government is determined to provide the best possible conditions for companies to innovate and grow in the UK and I am delighted that to hear that you have just signed a three year programme with the Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials. This is excellent news, and I hope that it is a great success.

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 in making this a reality.