[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7133\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u2018Turning science into business is about recognising opportunity\u2019\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Mark Ferguson, director general of the Science Foundation Ireland and chief scientific adviser to the Irish government, built his own research into a biotech company that failed in later stage clinical trials and which he subsequently restructured into another company. We spoke to him about what he learned from the experience, how scientists can turn their research into a business opportunity and why Europe needs a culture of smart risk-taking.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDoes Europe have a problem turning science into successful businesses?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If you look objectively at the data, at the amount of venture capital raised in the United States compared to Europe, there is clearly a gap. The latest figures for 2016\/17 showed that the US deployed \u20ac38bn while Europe deployed \u20ac6bn.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There could be many reasons for that. Perhaps the science is better in the US. But if you look at a hot area like artificial intelligence, you will see that Europe has better or \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/qz.com\/1490424\/europe-publishes-more-ai-papers-than-the-us-or-china\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Emore science when you look at numbers of publications and citations compared to the US\u003C\/a\u003E. So, it doesn\u2019t look like the science is the problem, but it could be that people cannot get finance.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are the challenges scientists face with this?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There are many challenges, but the number one is that you need to understand who the customer is and what they might want. It is one thing to have a great scientific or technical innovation. It is quite another to know how that technology can be deployed, to understand the market and how you are going to finance the business.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;You need to understand who the customer is and what they might want.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf. Mark Ferguson, advisory board, European Innovation Council \u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIs this because there are cultural differences between academia and business?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I think there are cultural differences. There will be occasional individuals who will want to straddle both worlds, like myself, but more often than not, it is about understanding, respecting and interacting with people from other domains.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It is also about knowing the difference between a high risk and a stupid risk. Some investments won\u2019t pay off, not because people didn\u2019t do a good job, not because the investors were stupid or any other bad reasons, but simply because we took a sensible risk and it didn\u2019t work out as we expected. We need to be comfortable with that.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There is more of a culture of that (an appetite for higher risk) in the US approach than there is in Europe.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignleft@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Europe publishes more AI research papers than the US or China but turning research into a business remains a challenge. Image credit - ITU Pictures, licensed under CC BY 2.0\u0022 height=\u00221080\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/IMCEUpload\/1620px-AI_for_GOOD_Global_Summit_%2835173300465%29.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Europe publishes more AI research papers than the US or China but turning research into a business remains a challenge. Image credit - ITU Pictures, licensed under CC BY 2.0\u0022 width=\u00221620\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EEurope publishes more AI research papers than the US or China but turning research into a business remains a challenge. Image credit - ITU Pictures, licensed under CC BY 2.0\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was your own experience of this?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018As an academic I discovered that if you operate on an embryo it heals without a scar. Scarring is a big medical problem for people who suffer burns, who have major surgery or are in road traffic accidents. We studied the cellular and molecular biology of scar healing and eventually set up a company, Renovo, to develop novel pharmaceutical drugs to prevent scarring.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We took those drugs all the way to phase three clinical trials. In early human trials they performed well and we treated over 1,000 patients and volunteers, but in later larger trials with thousands of people we got some negative results. This was nothing to do with the drug but more to do with variability in the way people heal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It gave us some completely new science, but commercially it was quite devastating because you need to find a way of screening people for this in a clinical trial that would have cost another \u20ac100m and taken another five years to do. But we sold the drugs and repositioned the company (calling it Inspired Capital) into a completely different sector as a lender of finance to small and medium enterprises in the UK. This was subsequently sold following an unsolicited takeover bid.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was the lesson you took from this?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There are always surprises that are outside your control, especially in the biological sciences. You need to be able to respond and adapt quickly and intelligently.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAre there common mistakes people make when venturing from science into business?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I wouldn\u2019t use the word mistake, but there are sometimes people who think that they have got a technology that is going to revolutionise the world yet nobody wants it. There are sometimes people who don\u2019t understand what the market wants.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat can scientists do to avoid this?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Sometimes it requires a different person other than the academic to take it forward. That is where I think organisations like the European Innovation Council can be helpful in bringing together entrepreneurs and innovative academics. The EIC will strive to expose the best researchers from the hottest fields to some of the best entrepreneurs and financiers in Europe.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDoes it require a different mindset to turn science into business?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Fundamentally, it is about recognising the opportunity. Then it is about ensuring critical things can be done \u2013 whether that is another experiment, market research, licensing or a patent. That requires a focussed effort and financing. We don\u2019t want people spending years trying to do those things.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In my vision of success we would have a fantastic ERC (European Research Council) scientist who makes a ground breaking discovery that has commercial potential and very quickly that comes to an EIC programme manager and they help assemble the other people the scientist needs to work with, ensure the critical pieces get funded, that equity gets funded and it can then be scaled rapidly.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECan you tell us more about what you see the EIC\u2019s role being here?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This is my opinion, but the EIC needs to do for innovation what the European Research Council has done for research. It got the best people, the best researchers from across Europe and used a relatively simple benchmark of success \u2013 namely the quality of the scientific publications as assessed by citations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The equivalent for innovation is to get the very best innovators, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs from around Europe involved. The hallmark of success will be how much the small companies the EIC invests in are subsequently worth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The EIC needs to have a seamless interface with the ERC to make sure that all of those excellent pieces of science it funds with disruptive, ground breaking potential are very quickly translated to scale by the EIC.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are your hopes for the future?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We need some successes under our belt. I\u2019m quite hopeful that some of the pilots, which are transitioning out of existing instruments and funding streams will be successful and this will attract other people. It is really important that the EIC money is used to leverage other private investor money. As it develops a global reputation for backing companies with great returns, that will come with time. There really are enormous opportunities.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis interview has been edited for clarity and length.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EOn 25 September, Prof. Mark Ferguson will be participating in a session with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/digital-single-market\/events\/cf\/european-research-and-innovation-days\/item-display.cfm?id=23491\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EEuropean Research Council\u003C\/a\u003E board members about the future of supporting European inventors and innovators.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003EEuropean Research \u0026amp; Innovation Days\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/research-and-innovation\/events\/upcoming-events\/european-research-and-innovation-days_en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EEuropean Research \u0026amp; Innovation Days\u003C\/a\u003E, which will take place in Brussels, Belgium, from 24 to 26 September, are designed to bring together policymakers, academics, industry, civil society and entrepreneurs to discuss how research and innovation can help tackle the major issues facing the EU over the next decade.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea is to seek a wide range of opinions from experts and interested parties about priorities for the first four years of the EU\u2019s upcoming \u20ac100 billion research funding programme,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/horizon-europe-next-research-and-innovation-framework-programme_en\u0022\u003EHorizon Europe\u003C\/a\u003E. In addition to conference sessions, policymakers from the EU and national administrations will be available throughout the event in a space called Horizon Village to gather further input from participants.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe event, which is set to be an annual affair, consists of a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/research-and-innovation\/events\/upcoming-events\/european-research-and-innovation-days\/policy-conference_en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Epolicy conference\u003C\/a\u003E to shape the Horizon Europe work programme, an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/research-and-innovation\/events\/upcoming-events\/european-research-and-innovation-days\/innovative-europe-hub_en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Einnovation hub\u003C\/a\u003E for innovators and investors to network, and a public exhibition called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/research-and-innovation\/events\/upcoming-events\/european-research-and-innovation-days\/science-wonderful-exhibition_en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EScience is Wonderful!\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-7h4zkgez0clx-4q8dj-z9lyc54sj2hrok4icbxa2woo\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-7H4zKGez0cLx_4q8dj-z9Lyc54Sj2HrOk4IcBxa2wOo\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]