There is often a distinction drawn between ‘Creative Industries’ and ‘Science and Technology Industries’ when describing economic development, career options and individual identities. The definition of creative industries that is often used is ‘economic sectors that originate from individual creativity, skill, and talent, generating wealth and jobs through the creation and exploitation of intellectual property.’ A definition that if one considers the individual insight, skill, talent and creativity that leads to the invention and design of a new medicine, could be equally applied to life science R&D.
by Tony Jones, CEO, One Nucleus - Email: [email protected]
Harriet Thornton, Events Administrator, One Nucleus - Email: [email protected]
When thinking about One Nucleus and its remit, perhaps it can be thought of as a similar platform for biotech companies to the one provided in the creative industries to great vocalists called ‘The Voice UK’, a singing reality TV series launched in 2012. Like the music industry, the biopharma sector and indeed One Nucleus within it, evolves over time. The original line-up of acts, the industry trends and the ultimate prize all changing. Whilst the judges conferring success within the life science sector tend to be investors, regulators and payors, all wanting the best products to reach patients, The Voice UK have music industry veterans to make the calls. This year it is Sir Tom Jones, will.i.am, Kelly Rowland (Destiny’s Child) and Danny Jones/Tom Fletcher (McFly). Let’s take a lead from the 2026 The Voice judges to illustrate the One Nucleus remit and how life science companies can benefit from belonging to the family.
A Bio-Voice Platform:
Whilst The Voice UK provides vocalists with a platform to be heard, One Nucleus provides the same for its ecosystem of companies and individuals engaged in bio-innovation. It is a strong advocate for our members’ respective excellence, value propositions and needs. This is without the intention to be a lobby group directly, which is a very different operation. Often forgotten is that whilst all lobbying is advocacy, not all advocacy is lobbying. Funded primarily by member subscription, understandably One Nucleus’s emphasis is on those that support the not-for-profit activity, yet it prides itself on being open and inclusive to all for a number of reasons, not least that innovation is a game of diversity, so engaging non-members also helps our core memberships’ connectivity, knowledge-sharing and deal flow. Further, enabling everyone to express their opinions, ideas or needs should not rely on their status, since great ideas and solutions can originate anywhere, not just within a member company. Individuals should be valued and heard. No organisation can claim to be the voice of an industry without consultation within and outside of membership, so if One Nucleus wishes to advocate for a solution, inclusive input is key.
It’s Not Unusual:
A well-known hit for Sir Tom Jones, but in the context of One Nucleus, then it is certainly not unusual for one of its members to invent, discover or develop a game-changing step in the world of drug discovery and development. These arise in settings from the micro biotech start-ups to the large multinational pharma, or as is often the case, from collaboration between the two. Exciting advances in recent times include AstraZeneca's Trixeo for Asthma, Opening New Manufacturing Demand for Single-Inhaler Triple Therapy gaining EU approval; Alchemab Therapeutics initiating Phase 1 clinical trial of ATLX-1282 and announcing their Series A financing extension; and Nuclera developing their innovative eProtein Discovery platform to enable drug discovery. These ongoing breakthroughs build on the legacy breakthroughs in monoclonal antibodies, DNA sequencing, phage display and more.
Survivor:
The Destiny’s Child anthem about resilience and independence is epitomised by the characteristics and behaviours of many One Nucleus members. The path of scientific advancement or business growth is rarely linear or predictable. The entrepreneurial can-do attitude of the innovators and founders is what leads to success. A key element of the One Nucleus member support is the resultant connectivity and insight gained. Enabling its members to gain access to key industry intelligence on investors and potential R&D partners, peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing and operational matters around facilities management, HR and savings are all targeted to help member companies succeed. The breadth of support available can be conveniently packaged under the Going for Gold programme that reduces the barrier to entry.
All About You:
There is no question that many companies are doing great things, but the long process of creating a new medicine from ideation to bedside requires a large pipeline of collaborators, investors, service providers, and professional advisors. These required journey companions can only help when they know what is required, what expertise others have and how to connect. One Nucleus maximises the opportunity members have to be seen and understood via a combination of its own pitching events and conferences (ON Helix and Genesis), profiling in e-newsletters and social media posts, as well as strong collaborations with global investment and bio-partnering both within the UK and overseas such as Drug Discovery Innovators & Investors (London, UK) and BIO-Europe (Cologne, Germany). Excellent opportunities for members to showcase their excellence and value proposition to partners and clients.
I Gotta Feeling:
will.i.am and his bandmates in Black Eyed Peas describe perfectly the need to sometimes just take stock and reflect on the success that has often started by one individual, plus or minus like-minded colleagues, having a hunch that what they have invented is going to change people's lives for the better. Securing the early data and a strong enough story to convince others to buy into that vision is the first step in creating success. As detailed above, the journey can be challenging and unlikely to be traversed alone, but when it works, then it should be celebrated. December 2026 will see the ON Awards presented within the Genesis conference on 10 December in London. A day full of showcasing companies doing wonderful things and debating what trends are impacting the life sciences sector will culminate in the Awards Ceremony and Gala Reception – it promises to be a good night!
Be Heard!
Whether it is because you want your voice to be heard; have made an unusual breakthrough; require support of your peers to be a survivor; need to access a platform that can tell everyone all about you, feel your colleagues or peers need to be celebrated, I gotta feeling One Nucleus is the place you should belong.
For more information on how One Nucleus can support your growth please visit https://onenucleus.com/ onenucleus.com or email [email protected]