SDI, iCeMS hold life science workshop: Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney announces launch of iCeMS open innovation office

Secretary Swinney announcing the launch of the iCeMS open innovation office in Edinburgh

May 9th, 2013

On May 8th, Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) and Scottish Development International (SDI) held a life science workshop in Kyoto, which coincided with Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney's courtesy visit to the city. About 30 participants -- Secretary Swinney and staff from the British consulate general, mostly Kyoto-based biotech firms, and the two organizers -- attended the workshop.

In his opening remarks, Secretary Swinney expressed his gratitude toward the collaboration agreement that was made last October between the City of Edinburgh and Kyoto Prefecture, with the hope that it will accelerate economic and academic interaction. He highlighted the link between the University of Edinburgh's MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM) and iCeMS as a salient example of collaborative efforts.

"We are establishing an iCeMS Open Innovation office in the Number Nine building at the Edinburgh Bio-quarter," said Mr. Swinney, commenting on the anticipated benefits of the office and how it will be utilized in the future. "The Edinburgh-Bio Quarter, of which I am the Chair, is a unique facility that brings together public healthcare, academic research and extensive commercial lab space in one location to accelerate translational medicine and facilitate large scale life science and biotech collaborations. I understand there will be an opening ceremony of the office during the trip from Japan in July and I hope many of you will use the office to engage with potential partners or indeed take time to see how you might be able to set-up an operation in Scotland and accelerate your research towards commercialization."

Professor Norio Nakatsuji, founding Director of iCeMS, expressed his strong interest to continue cooperative relations between the University of Edinburgh's MRC-CRM and iCeMS, which was fortified through the memorandum of understanding ratified in 2011 after several mutual visits on both ends, and also by a joint symposium held in Edinburgh later that year. "The Edinburgh-Bio Quarter is an ideal environment for advancing regenerative medicine and drug discovery" said Prof. Nakatsuji about the iCeMS open innovation office. "It is a greathonor to have a space for promoting collaboration of university, industry and government on a global scale. I hope that we can make full use of this office to contribute to bridging the City of Edinburgh and Kyoto Prefecture, and in turn to cementing Scotland-Japan ties.

Prof. Takashi Asada, manager of the iCeMS research planning section, organized and chaired the workshop, along with SDI staff including senior account executive Yasutsune Kanatani. Prof. Asada presented the collaborative efforts between the two institutions leading up to now and urged the audience to utilize the iCeMS open innovation office and join the July inauguration ceremony.

 

Photos


Mr. Swinney (left) and Prof. Nakatsuji giving the opening speech
 

From left: SDI's Asia director Frank Boyland, Secretary Swinney, and Prof. Nakatsuji listening to Prof. Asada's presentation
 

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