51³Ô¹Ï

The UK must seize a ¡°once in a lifetime opportunity¡± to recruit top American scientists by providing ¡°much more¡± global talent funding,?according to a Nobelist behind some of Britain¡¯s most successful biotech start-ups.

Greg Winter, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018 for his?, said it was crucial to recognise the potentially epoch-defining moment presented by Donald Trump¡¯s attack on US research, which will see some science agencies have their?budgets slashed by almost 50 per cent.

¡°This opportunity does not happen very often,¡± said Winter, speaking to?51³Ô¹Ï?at the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting.

¡°If we seize this opportunity to give a home to Americans in our scientific system we can expect to see some significant returns,¡± said Winter, whose research on antibodies has been used, among other things, by the cancer drug Keytruda, the world¡¯s biggest-selling pharmaceutical in sales with revenues of $31 billion (?22.7 billion).

At least $1 billion in licensing fees from drugs related to Winter¡¯s research has gone to the Medical Research Council, which funded Cambridge¡¯s Laboratory of Molecular Biology where he worked.

His comments came as the UK unveiled its ?54 million?global talent scheme?to recruit overseas researchers, launched several months after France and Europe?launched similar schemes.

Winter urged the UK to increase the five-year funding package. ¡°They need to fund much more if there want to take advantage ¨C it is a once in a lifetime opportunity,¡± said Winter, a former master of Trinity College, Cambridge.

¡°It could be like what happened with Germany after the war when America took the likes of Wernher von Braun,¡± said Winter, referring to the V2 rocket inventor, often dubbed the father of space travel, who was recruited by the US military in 1945 and later worked for Nasa during the 1960s.

The UK should not be squeamish about targeting outstanding US scientists, he continued, referring to concerns expressed by some that the UK should not be seen to be exploiting the geopolitical turbulence created by Trump¡¯s presidency.

¡°Bringing Americans over [to the UK] might feel a bit uncomfortable for some but even if they only stay for five years or so they will bring PhDs and postdocs who will be fantastic for our system,¡± he said.

At present, the UK¡¯s 51³Ô¹Ï Talent Fund is only reserved for 10 pre-selected universities ¨C a stipulation that has raised concerns about further concentration of funding within London, Oxford and Cambridge ¨C the ¡°golden triangle¡±.

One of the UK¡¯s most successful scientists turned biotech entrepreneurs, Winter has founded two Cambridge-based start-ups?that were later sold for hundreds of millions of pounds (Cambridge Antibody Technology and Domantis), while another start-up, Bicycle Therapeutics, is currently valued at more than ?400 million.

Asked whether the government should concentrate additional research funding of all types within the golden triangle, Winter said there was some merit in this. ¡°Do you focus funding on successful places where the best scientists want to go, or do you spread it around geographically in other areas where this money may or may not make a difference? History suggests [rewarding] excellence is more effective to develop science,¡± said Winter.

¡°Socially is this a good idea? I¡¯m not sure¡±, said the Leicester-born and Newcastle-educated scientist. ¡°But in terms of value for money it is probably the best course of action.¡±

¡°Ideally we give lots of money to lots of different places but we don¡¯t have this opportunity at the moment,¡± he said.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com