Executive Chair of InnoScot Health, Graham Watson will be speaking at one of the country’s biggest annual healthcare conferences taking place in Edinburgh later this month

As a panellist at this year’s Scotsman Life Sciences Conference – held on Wednesday 29 November at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) – Graham will be discussing commercialisation opportunities, particularly ‘case examples of normalising and nurturing entrepreneurialism.’

Alongside leading academics on the panel, he will focus on the collective need to inspire and heighten NHS Scotland’s clinical entrepreneurship – a drive which InnoScot Health fully supports.

It is one of three Parallel Best Practice Sessions sponsored by ONE BioHub.

The popular event – being delivered in hybrid form – will this year focus on growth and sustainability.

Billed as “an engaging full day conference designed to encourage networking, spirited debate and information sharing,” members of the InnoScot Health team will be in attendance to discuss how the organisation can assist innovators with its expertise.

Graham said: “I am looking forward to offering my experience and insights at The Scotsman Life Sciences Conference. The event is highly regarded across the sector and the focus on growth and sustainability is very topical. I believe that my commercial track record will be useful in that regard.

“Entrepreneurialism is a key focus for InnoScot Health – supporting those who see opportunities to innovate and take forward their ideas for the benefit of patients – and as Scotland continues to push for Net Zero, those ideas can be pivotal to meeting environmental challenges.

“Against the current backdrop of renewal and transformation, it is vital that we look for new ways to deliver more for less while urgently reducing the environmental impact which underpins so many health issues both across Scotland and globally.

“Entrepreneurial-minded life sciences innovators can make a big contribution to that effort and are well-placed to spot and exploit the gaps that can lead to sustainable growth and better health outcomes.”

He added: “Scotland’s life sciences expertise is amongst the best in the world – but the need to decarbonise and digitalise processes must now take precedence as we look to harness that existing know-how in research, startups, and inward investment for further innovation.”

The Life Sciences Strategy for Scotland 2025 Vision set out an Industry Leadership Group target for the country’s life sciences industry to contribute £8bn to the Scottish economy by 2025, which it is well on track to achieve.

That vision has focused on working in partnership with academia, healthcare professionals and Scottish Government, to deliver all elements critical to the enterprise lifecycle - research, development, manufacturing and commercialisation.

The event’s organisers said: “The value the life sciences industry delivers for the world and the impact it has is clear. But now, with the increasing urgency of global health and climate challenges, we must focus not just on what we are delivering but how we are delivering.

“In the well recognised context of highly advanced science and technology that the industry delivers for its customers – the shop front – this conference will focus on the back-end processes and the innovation that is needed for sustainable growth.”