Business entrepreneurs and national labs to appear before Lords Committee examining the future potential of engineering biology in the UK

Among them are Dr Clive Dix, executive chair of drug discovery company C4X Discovery and former head of the Covid vaccine taskforce, and Lord Willetts, former Minister of State for Universities and Science and co-founder of SynBioVen, an investment vehicle supporting the next generation of synthetic biology scientists, founders and start-ups.

The committee is looking at the current economic impact of engineering biology on the UK and, given the UK’s worldwide reputation as a leader and innovator in this field, the potential economic impact of engineering biology going forward.

Specifically, the committee wants to understand how government might help remove some of the challenges faced by UK companies in scaling-up and obtaining investment.

The committee will also hear from public and independent laboratories, including the Centre for Process Innovation and The Sainsbury Laboratory.

The Government defines engineering biology as the design, scaling and commercialisation of biology-derived products and services that can transform sectors or produce existing products more sustainably.

The first evidence session at 10.15am will include three witnesses:

• Dr Dix, Executive Chair of C4X Discovery
• The Rt Hon Lord Willetts, co-founder of SynBioVen
• Sara Holland, Patent Attorney at Potter Clarkson

At 11:15am, the committee, chaired by Baroness Brown, will hear from:

• Graeme Cruickshank (Chief Technology & Innovation Officer at Centre for Process Innovation)
• Prof Nick Talbot (Executive Director and Group leader of The Sainsbury Laboratory)

The evidence sessions will be available to watch live or on demand on Parliament TV or in person in Committee Room 4, Palace of Westminster.

The committee’s findings will inform a report which makes recommendations to the Government and key organisations later this summer.