NEWS


Action not words I


C&I is owned by the SCI 14-15 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PS


Tel: +44 (0) 20 7598 1500 Email: secretariat@soci.org


Chemistry & Industry is published ten times a year by John Wiley & Sons Limited (on behalf of SCI), The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom


www.wiley.com INTERNATIONAL


Dr John Emsley Dr Morris Berrie


ADVISORY BOARD Dr Pariti Siva Rama Kumar


DyStar, India


University of Cambridge, UK TechInvestor, UK


Eric Johnson Atlantic Consulting, Switzerland Tarit Mukhopadyhay


University College London, UK


Prof David Walton University of Coventry, UK Prof Martyn Poliakoff


Prof Erick Vandamme Catherine Maxey


ADVERTISING Stephen Parkes


University of Nottingham, UK


University of Ghent, Belgium


Styron, US


+44 (0)1243 770272 sparkes@wiley.com


SUBSCRIPTIONS For ordering information please go to: wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/support or email: cs-journals@wiley.com


Americas


Tel +1 781 388 8598 or +1 800 835 6770


(toll free in the USA & Canada)


Europe, Middle East and Africa Tel +44 (0)1865 778315


Asia Pacific Tel +65 6511 8000


Japan (Japanese speaking support) Tel +65 6511 8010


Email: cs-japan@wiley.com


Further Japanese customer support is available at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ support.


The US annual subscription price is US$1019. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by Agent named Air Business, C/O AirCityPost LLC, 153- 63 Rockaway Blvd, Jamaica, New York NY11434. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431.


US Postmaster: Send address changes to Chemistry & Industry, C/O Air Business, C/O AirCityPost LLC, 153-63 Rockaway Blvd, Jamaica, New York NY11434. Subscription records are maintained at John Wiley & Sons, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom. Air Business Ltd is acting as Wiley’s mailing agent.


t was entirely appropriate that UK business secretary Greg Clarke unveiled the UK government’s long-awaited White Paper on Industrial Strategy at the Francis Crick


Institute in London at the end of November. After all, life sciences came up as one of the four industrial sectors that the government will be focusing on through sector deals; the others being artificial intelligence, construction and automotive. Throughout the white paper there is a focus on clean growth and raising the UK’s productivity through investment in R&D. Clarke said: ’Traditionally, Westminster has


taken a “we know best” approach when it comes to policy-making; now, as part of our industrial strategy, the government will switch from “boss” to “business partner”….Our industrial strategy is not something that is done to business but something done with, and indeed by, industry.’ The white paper follows chancellor, Philip Hammond’s budget announcement to raise UK spending on R&D from 1.7% to 2.4% of national income by 2027. The government believes extra spending on R&D could result in around £80bn of additional investment in advanced technology in the next decade. From the life science perspective, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI welcomed the government’s roadmap for business. CEO Mike Thompson said: ‘The government’s industrial strategy is significantly important in providing a long- term strategic roadmap for UK business. As we navigate the challenges of leaving the European Union, it is important we continue to make the domestic landscape as attractive as possible. ‘Today’s announcement of major investment in


new R&D facilities by global pharmaceutical com- pany MSD is a vote of confidence in the strength of UK science and a signal of the Government’s ambition to compete on a global scale. ‘We now look forward to further detail on


the sector deals between the pharmaceutical industry and government on the back of Sir John Bell’s impressive Life Sciences Industrial Strategy. These deals are just the first steps but will be instrumental in securing the future strength of the UK life sciences industry, helping the UK economy prosper and allowing NHS patients to get better and faster access to world-class medicines discovered and developed here in Britain.’ While the announcement of investment in a London-based research centre by MSD, the name that Merck & Co operates under outside the US, is good news, it was rather tempered by the earlier announcement from Johnson &


Neil Eisberg | Editor


Johnson that it was pulling its plan for its first JLabs research centre outside North America, in the UK. The company’s next JLab will now be located in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai, China; the first such facility in Asia. It will open in Q2 2019.


MSD’s announcement was also followed by


Germany’s Qiagen revealing that it is involved in establishing a genomic research centre in Manchester. Some observers believe that these announcement are not the last and that further inward investment in the life sciences sector will be forthcoming in the near future. The life sciences sector has taken another hit, this time not unexpected, as it was revealed that the European Medicines Agency will be moving to Amsterdam as a result of Brexit. For the chemical industry as a whole, this


strategy should be good news as without chemistry then most of these challenges are likely to die on their feet. The construction and automotive industries are key customers for chemicals. As Steve Elliott, CEO of the UK Chemical Industries Association, commented: ‘While it would have been nice to see more mention of the work of the chemical industry, I am encouraged that the five foundations of ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment and place plus the four grand challenges of artificial intelligence and data economy, future of mobility, clean growth and ageing society all demand chemical industry solutions.’ But good words need actions. Mark


Tighe, CEO of the R&D tax specialist Catax, commented that the UK government should stop tinkering around and make ‘more meaningful adjustments’ to R&D tax relief (see p5). He also criticised the focus on cutting-edge firms when there are plenty of other more traditional companies that could benefit. The Institute of Directors welcomed the


white paper as ‘big step’ but noted that there are ‘many miles left’ to go to turn it into a sustainable strategy. Director general Stephen Martin said this ‘could be the beginning of a bold, new approach to the economy, but only if what has been announced today is followed through. Not just in this parliament, but over many parliaments to come‘. As Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the CBI, said: ‘the hard work starts now’, adding that this must be the start of ‘a strategic race, not a tactical sprint’.


© Society of Chemical Industry 2017 ISSN [print] 0009-3068. ISSN [online] 2047-6329 Views expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect those of SCI or C&I


4


10 | 2017


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52