As Cambridge’s Science & Technology cluster grows at an unprecedented rate so more national and international law firms and IP specialists choose to put down roots here.

The effect has been to grow the quality of legal expertise not just in Cambridge but across East Anglia and thereby keep record levels of work in the region that in former years would have gone to London.

The law pool in the region is the largest ever; more law firms and a record number of patent and trademark attorneys are thriving here but the region is by no means over-lawyered as more and more local companies scale internationally with all the many and varied legislative demands global expansion entails.

As The Lawyer noted in its guide to the UK’s top 200 law firms, a record high fee level would appear to reflect a boom time in the profession – and in the business sectors they serve.

As The Lawyer reports, this year’s 200 largest UK-headquartered law firms generated a total revenue of £25.68 billion, a rise of almost 10 per cent on last year.

The total number of fee-earners, qualified lawyers, partners and business services staff all rose by around five per cent.

The UK’s 100 largest law firms billed a record £24.1bn in 2017/18, the largest revenue ever achieved by the group and a rise of almost 10 per cent on 2016/17.

Eversheds Sutherland was the highest ranked firm with substantial East Anglian presence in the top 200, moving up from 13th place to 10th with revenue of £721.8 million. Taylor Wessing was 18th (£301.5m) and Mills & Reeve 37th (£106.3m).

Then came Penningtons Manches (48th, £76.1m), Birketts (62nd, £48.1m), Bircham Dyson Bell (84th, £33.7m), Howes Percival (118th, £20.1m), Ashtons Legal (123rd, £19.1m), Hewitsons (127th, £18.3m), Stone King (128th, £17.9m) and Taylor Vinters (133rd, £17.3m).

On the solicitors’ front, it was informative to see that – despite the influx of newcomers to the local scene, the longest established law firms continued to dominate the East Anglia rankings in the latest issue of The Legal 500 Guide.

The new issue marked a first for the publisher which eschewed the massive print edition to go exclusively online for the first time in its long and distinguished history.

Mills & Reeve, headed in Cambridge by Nick Finlayson-Brown, and Birketts –thriving under the stewardship of CEO Jonathan Agar – together claimed around half the No.1 positions in East Anglia across the various disciplines covered in detail by the guide. They had 61 top spots between them, either stand alone or with others, with Mills & Reeve claiming 32 and Birketts 29. 

No other firm managed to get into double figures. Taylor Vinters and Eversheds Sutherland each claimed nine Tier 1 positions, Hewitsons and Howes Percival eight apiece, Greenwoods seven and Ashtons Legal six.

The Legal 500 Guide has this year named its leading individuals and ones2watch – the next generation lawyers as it calls them – within each particular category of the law.

Here again Mills & Reeve and Birketts dominate with just under half the leading individuals and next generation lawyers chosen for the East Anglia section of the guide.

Mills & Reeve has most leading individuals with 53, with Birketts second on 44. That is more than double the number of the third placed law firm – Ashtons Legal – which has 20 leading individuals. Howes Percival has 18, Hewitsons 14, Taylor Vinters 12, Eversheds Sutherland 11, Greenwoods eight and Buckles seven.

Four firms in particular will be heartened by the number of next generation lawyers rated by the guide because this evidences an upcoming talent pipeline. Birketts leads the way in East Anglia with 18, Mills & Reeve has 13, Taylor Vinters nine and Greenwoods six.

In other areas of the law East Anglian firms also excel – none more so than Fenners Chambers which has produced another outstanding year in the elevated world of the Bar. The Cambridge Chambers is again named a leading set in the whole of the South East and has a number of individuals lauded by The Legal 500.

A record number of firms with Cambridge roots excel in the rankings for Patent & Trademark attorneys and for general Intellectual Property work.

• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: Nick Finlayson-Brown of Mills & Reeve

Blighter Surveillance Systems, a radar technology business at the heart of the Cambridge UK cluster, has earned a slice of an $18 million contract clinched by Liteye Systems of Colchester with the United States Department of Defense.

Blighter is supplying its counter-UAV radar technology (Blighter A400 series air security/drone detection radars) to Liteye Systems as part of the contract.

Liteye is contracted to deliver numerous containerised anti-unmanned aircraft systems (known as C-AUDS) to the Department of Defense by the end of the fourth quarter of 2018.

Kenneth Geyer, CEO of Liteye Systems, said: “The Blighter A400 series radars are a key part of our C-UAS solution which is becoming the go-to defence system in combat.

“We are thrilled to have secured our fifth contract for C-UAS systems since we first supplied the US version of the AUDS system to the United States Army in 2016.”

Liteye is to deliver what it describes as “numerous containerised anti-unmanned aircraft systems’ which are destined for the US Air Force.

With many systems already in the field providing real world experience, against very real threats, Liteye is developing more advanced capabilities that can be layered into their solutions.

These advancements will be needed to combat the growing threat today, and for years to come, from the fast growing unmanned or robotic systems market.

Geyer added: “The unmanned systems industry is innovating at an incredible rate. Unfortunately with all the great benefits that provides it also spawns the rogue operator who uses that tech in a malicious way. Our goal is to stay ahead of that threat.”
 

In planning his Budget this year Phillip Hammond faces two significant problems, writes James Francis, Corporate Services Partner at Ensors Chartered Accountants. 

The first is the looming threat of Brexit. This will be the final Budget before the UK officially leaves the EU in March 2019. 

As such the Chancellor needs to reassure an increasingly uncertain set of stakeholders (especially internal and external investors) that; the economy is on a sound footing, the UK is the place to do business, and none of this will be changed by Brexit. 

He will need to be seen to take active steps to mitigate the risks of a hard or no-deal Brexit, whilst at the same time putting measures into place to allow the UK to take advantage of a more beneficial deal, if one can be obtained.

On a macro level, the UK economy is currently growing at a steady but somewhat lacklustre rate. Annual growth was 1.7 per cent in 2017 and is currently forecast to be 1.5 per cent in 2018. 

Although this is an increase of 0.2 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively on the predictions announced by the Chancellor at the last Budget, it does not reverse the more worrying long term downward trend in growth. 

When coupled with the anxiety and unpredictability of what may happen after Brexit there is some cause for concern regarding the medium to long term economic prospects of the country as a whole.

Although the vote to leave the EU has had less of a short term effect on the economy than many predicted, it is still the general opinion that the uncertainty surrounding any Brexit deal, and the divisions in government around how to tackle negotiations, have been a major factor in the slowdown in growth. 

What is unclear at this stage is if there are any tangible actions that the Chancellor can take as part of the Budget that can directly respond to these issues. I would hope and expect to see a safe and assured performance with a sensible range of measures designed to calm nerves and increase confidence rather than anything that will further rock the boat.

The second problem faced by the Chancellor is the need to fulfil the Conservative party pledge to wipe out the Budget deficit by 2020, whilst at the same time trying to honour Theresa May’s recent proclamation that austerity will soon be coming to an end. 

The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that in order to “end austerity”, the Chancellor will need to increase spending by around £19 billion a year between now and 2023. 

This expenditure can only be funded by either increasing borrowing (which would mean abandoning the above manifesto pledge) or increasing taxes (which would not be in keeping with traditional Conservative values). 

Mr Hammond may try to avoid confronting this issue directly by essentially deferring it until next year’s Budget. He might make the not unreasonable argument that this problem is directly tied to the aforementioned matter of Brexit and that any end to austerity will be dependent on the nature of the Brexit deal that is secured. 

He will still need to take some degree of action now, however. This may be in the form of an internet sales tax, adjustments to certain tax reliefs (e.g. entrepreneurs’ relief or business property relief), or tweaks to the pensions tax regime. 

The guiding principle is likely to be to steer clear of anything too politically incendiary, and to introduce some moderate tax increases that will be popular (or at least not too controversial) with the voting public.

Overall, however, it seems likely that, in spite of any modest tax increases, the Chancellor will struggle to avoid raising borrowing. If that happens, it will be interesting to see how he presents this, and whether the façade of progress towards ‘balancing the books’ is maintained.

ensors.co.uk

US technology giant Amazon says it is bringing an additional 180 ‘Silicon Valley’ style jobs to Cambridge as part of a new wave of UK expansion.

Amazon’s Cambridge Development Centre is to create space for the additional roles to develop innovations for Alexa, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and machine learning.

In a major investment boost to UK innovation, Amazon has also announced plans to open a new corporate office in Manchester in 2019 and increase the capacity of its Scotland and Cambridge development centres. 

The new investment will provide additional capacity for over 1,000 new highly skilled roles in the UK.

Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox, hailed the move as a major boost for the UK. He said: “Ensuring that the world’s best and brightest companies continue to invest and innovate in the UK is at the heart of our Global Britain agenda. 

“Amazon’s decision to create hundreds of highly-skilled jobs in Manchester, Edinburgh and Cambridge is an enormous vote of confidence in the UK and a signal to the world that the UK is very much open for business.”
Doug Gurr, UK country manager for Amazon, said: “With the UK taking a leading role in our global innovation we are delighted to announce plans to create capacity for over 1,000 new highly-skilled roles across the country. “These are Silicon Valley jobs in Britain, and further cement our long-term commitment to the UK.”

Amazon’s Cambridge Development Centre will receive new investment for expansion, creating capacity for the additional 180 new roles. The development centre houses R &D teams that bring new innovation to millions of Amazon customers around the globe, including: Amazon Devices, Amazon Alexa (the brain that powers devices such as Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Show); AWS; Prime Air (a future delivery system to safely get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less using drones) and core machine learning and retail systems, improving the shopping experience for Amazon customers.

Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than £9.3 billion in the UK to build and run its operations, and is on course to grow to 27,500 roles – including over 6,500 roles in its corporate, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and R & D divisions – by the end of this year.

• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: Doug Gurr

Cambridgeshire infection control business Tristel is advising continental customers to stockpile products to avoid supply delays after Brexit.

The company, quoted on AIM in the UK, posted a thumping set of results for the year to June 30 but its share price slid after the Brexit alert which added that Tristel expected turbulence that it had never experienced before.

Chief executive Paul Swinney said: “Brexit looms. Our response to the uncertainty surrounding this event is to build inventory of all component parts and finished products.  

“We have advised our continental customers to increase their stockholdings over the coming months in preparation for possible disruption to the supply chain.  

“Based upon available advice, we believe that we will be able to CE mark our disinfectants and sell them within Europe irrespective of the outcome of the Brexit negotiation. 

“The only certainty is that we will experience turbulence this year and our normally predictable pattern of trade will be disrupted to some extent.  Notwithstanding this near-term uncertainty, the outlook for the Company remains very positive.”

Tristel, which makes infection prevention and contamination control products, hoisted turnover 10 per cent to £22.2 million with overseas sales up 19 per cent to £11.4m – representing 51 per cent of total sales.

Pre-tax profit before share-based payments was up 15 per cent to £4.7m and the full-year dividend per share was increased 13.6 per cent to 4.58p. Tristel ended the year with net cash of £6.7m – up from £5.1m year-on-year – and remains debt free.

Swinney added: “We made solid progress during the year. Whilst sales growth was at the lower end of our target range, adjusted pre-tax profit and net margin exceeded both market expectations and our internal plan. 

“Once again, the driver for top-line growth was our overseas activity which now accounts for more than half of the group’s business. Our plans to enter the United States market remain on track and continue to progress well.  

“During the year we secured our first product approval and established our capability to manufacture and sell nationwide. We are waiting for additional approvals from the EPA for enhanced product claims for Duo and state registrations before we will start active promotion and marketing in the US.  

“We expect to intensify these activities in the second half of the current financial year. Our submission to the Food and Drug Administration for Duo is progressing well and we recently received very constructive feedback from the agency which will help guide us to its completion.”

Inflexion Private Equity portfolio company Huws Gray, an independent builders merchants, has acquired Ridgeons – the Cambridge UK timber and builders merchants trading from over 40 mixed branches in East Anglia.

The deal runs into many millions but no official figures are being disclosed. The acquisition follows the minority investment taken by Inflexion Partnership Capital I in Huws Gray in April. 

Huws Gray has 60 branches located across north and mid Wales, the north west of England, the Midlands and Yorkshire. The transformational acquisition will significantly increase Huws Gray’s store base and broaden its national presence, making it the UK’s largest independent builders merchants. 

Like Huws Gray, Ridgeons has a strong focus on the growing repair, improvement and maintenance segment, as well as a large and diversified customer base of over 16,000 clients. The transaction is the fifth acquisition made by Huws Gray in less than six months.

Terry Owen, CEO of Huws Gray, said: “The acquisition of Ridgeons represents a real milestone for our company as we become the largest independent builders merchants in the UK. 

“Ridgeons is an excellent business with a genuine leadership position in its region and is a perfect addition to Huws Gray’s growing footprint. We were struck not only by the strength of the company, but also by the considerable similarities between our cultures and management style.”

Gordon Ridgeon, on behalf of the Ridgeon family, added: “Our priority was to find a new owner for Ridgeons with the same culture and values. We are confident that in Huws Gray we have found a like-minded owner who will further strengthen the Ridgeon brand and continue to build on the success of the past 107 years.”

Scientists and clinicians in Cambridge have developed a technique to eavesdrop on a patient’s brain during tumour surgery – improving the accuracy of the operation and reducing the risk of impairing brain function.

The new approach would use enhanced pre-surgery imaging technology to more accurately pinpoint the exact location of a tumour and identify how different regions of the patient’s brain communicate with each other. 

From a personalised medicines viewpoint the technique is revolutionary. The enhanced imaging will provide read outs from a patient’s brain. Surgeons and patients will then be able to discuss the options for how much of the damaged areas should be removed and what alternative actions would mean in terms of future functionality.

In theatre, once a patient’s skull has been opened, the surgeon will place electrodes on the surface of the brain to ‘listen’ to the brain activity. A computer algorithm will analyse this information as the patient performs a battery of cognitive tests, giving live feedback to the surgeon. This will enable the surgeon to predict more accurately the likely impact of removing a particular area of brain tissue.

In particular, executive function is difficult to test using electrical stimulation – in part because it involves networks of regions across the brain. 

It is hoped that a combination of improved cognitive tests and a more accurate understanding of an individual patient’s networks will enable surgeons to monitor potential impairment to executive function in theatre.

The new technique is intended as an addition to the current gold standard brain tumour surgery – not an alternative, the Cambridge UK team stresses.

Patients with low-grade gliomas in their brains – a slow-spreading, but potentially life-threatening tumour – will usually receive surgery to have the tumour removed. 

But removing brain tissue can be risky as there is no boundary between the brain and tumour – the tumour infiltrates the brain. Removal of a tumour can lead to removal of vital parts of the brain and resulting impairments in functions such as speech, movement and executive function (which enables the individual to plan, organise and execute tasks).

To minimise this risk, neurosurgeons open the patient’s skull and then waken them. A local anaesthetic means the patient will feel no pain, and the brain itself contains no pain receptors.

The surgeon will probe the patient’s brain, applying mild electric pulses to tissue surrounding the tumour while asking them to perform a set of tasks. For example, the patient may be asked to count from one to five: if an electric pulse applied to a certain place in the brain affects their ability to perform this task, the surgeon will leave this tissue in place.

“As surgeons, we’re always trying to minimise the risk to patients and provide them with the best possible outcomes,” says Thomas Santarius, a neurosurgeon at Addenbrooke’s, Cambridge University Hospitals. 

“Operating on brain tumours is always a delicate balance between removing as much diseased tissue as possible to give patients better prognosis while minimising the risk of damage to brain functions that will have a potentially massively detrimental impact on the patient’s life.”

While the current approach is considered the ‘gold standard’, it is not perfect. It takes time to apply the pulses on different parts of the brain and it may miss out some areas that are important for certain functions. The current battery of cognitive tests that surgeons use is also limited and does not test for the essential executive function, for example.

The scientists and clinicians from the University of Cambridge and Addenbrooke’s Hospital, led by Santarius, Dr Yaara Erez and Michael Hart – together with Pedro Coelho from Cambridge intraoperative neuromonitoring company Neurophys Ltd – have collaborated to develop the new approach.

“At the moment, neurosurgeons only know about function in the average brain – they have no patient-specific information,” explains Dr Yaara Erez, a neuroscientist from the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambridge. 

“But there’s been huge progress in brain imaging and electrophysiology – our understanding of the electricity within our bodies – so why not use this information to improve brain surgery? 

“We are aiming to bring all this knowledge into the theatre, providing surgeons with integrated data and the best tools to support their work.”

Under this approach, patients would undergo a number of neuroimaging examinations using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before surgery aimed at identifying not only the exact location of the tumour but also how different regions of their brains communicate with each other. 

As part of this process, a 3D-printed copy of the patient’s brain will be used, showing where the tumour is located. This model is intended to help surgeons plan the surgery, discuss with the patient the potential risks from surgery and involve the patient in decisions over which tissue to remove.

“Doctors need to be able to talk through the options with patients, and we hope that using neuroimaging data and presenting this as a 3D model will help surgeons with the planning of surgery and ensure patients are better informed about the risks and benefits from surgery,” says Dr Erez.
 
“This isn’t going to replace brain stimulation during surgery but it will guide the surgeon and it will save time and make surgery more efficient, more accurate. 

“It will also enable us to understand how patients’ brains adapt to the presence of a tumour and how well they recover from surgery. It involves equipment that is largely already in use in surgeries, so should be easy and cost effective to implement.”

So far, the team has obtained data from 12 patients, already providing a large amount of data to analyse, with a rich dataset from each patient, collected before, during and after surgery. 

Although they are currently analysing this information offline, the data will help them find the best measures to provide the required information – what the ideal tasks for patients to perform are – and then to optimise the analysis.

The research has only been possible because of the interaction between researchers and clinicians from a variety of disciplines, says Dr Erez. “At Cambridge, we have different groups of neuroscientists with a range of expertise from psychology and imaging to computer science working with clinicians and surgeons at the hospital.  Whatever we need, we can always find someone in Cambridge who knows how to do it!”

The research is supported by the Medical Research Council, the Royal Society and The Brain Tumour Charity.

Originally from Israel, Dr Yaara Erez is now a neuroscientist at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit – a centre that has “a long history of great contributions to the theoretical and experimental foundations of cognitive psychology.”

Her background is in computer science and psychology. She spent several years as a software developer before deciding to pursue a PhD in neuroscience. Her work uses a variety of techniques that involve different types of brain signals that she collects from healthy volunteers and patients with brain tumours. 

Cambridge has been chosen to host a new global forum designed to change the face of international healthcare.

Gamechanging innovation will be centre stage at the Next Health World Innovation Forum – a new international healthcare conference which takes place in Cambridge from June 26-27, 2019.

The Innovation Forum is partnering with Cambridge’s pioneering Milner Therapeutics Institute to challenge the status quo and identify technologies that will revolutionise patient care across a range of disease areas.

The event will incorporate the annual symposium of the Milner Institute, which is dedicated to transforming groundbreaking research into new therapies, by breaking down the barriers between academia and industry. 
Confirmed speakers include representatives from Servier, Pfizer, Innovative Medicines Initiative and Cancer Research UK. 

Key topics will include Machine learning and artificial intelligence in healthcare; Cancer; Neuroscience and neurotech; Cell and gene therapy; Prevention (diagnostics, monitoring); Evidence-based new economic models for healthcare; Nutrition, lifestyle and healthcare; Holistic approaches to medicine.

As well as pinpointing the gaps, challenges and unmet needs of the current global healthcare ecosystem, the forum is determined to define goals for the biopharma and healthcare industry, connect investment capital with biotech startups and identify strategies, policy and technological solutions that will enable a healthier future.

Cambridge was chosen as host city because of its world-class BioMedTech, research and academic cluster.

The partner hosts believe the event will unite leading stakeholders from across the global healthcare community, ranging from academics, large established bio-pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, healthcare providers and government representatives to clinicians and patient groups, disruptive startups and investors across all stages of the research and investment cycle. 

Professor Tony Kouzarides (pictured), director of the Milner Therapeutics Institute at the University of Cambridge, says: “The Milner Therapeutics Institute is excited to work with the Innovation Forum to create Next Health as the biggest biotech gathering in Europe.

“By partnering our annual symposium with this event, we will drive new opportunities for translational collaboration and change in healthcare.”

The meeting will feature prominent keynote speeches as well as ‘fireside’ chats, startup pitches to investors and panel and round table discussions led by senior decision makers from industry, academia and government.

Dr Marek Tyl, CEO of the Innovation Forum says: “The healthcare industry is just at the beginning of a revolutionary transformation and we aim to shape not just the debate but also tangible government, industry and academic initiatives to create more innovative but also more affordable and accessible, future healthcare that not only treats but also prevents disease.”

The Innovation Forum is a global network of more than 10,000 innovators that seeks to accelerate technology development by generating synergy between academia, industry, investment and the public sector. It focuses on the evolution of current and future technologies, ranging from those at the nascent stage to those on the cusp of commercial application.

The Milner Therapeutics Institute is a fully integrated Institute of the School of Biological Sciences and the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of Cambridge. 

Its mission is to connect academia and industry, enable collaborative research and accelerate therapeutic companies. It delivers this mission through a global therapeutic alliance of 74 industry and academic partners. 

The alliance consists of seven major pharmaceutical companies (Astex, AstraZeneca, Elysium Health, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Shionogi, Pfizer), three academic centres in Cambridge (University of Cambridge, Babraham Institute and Sanger Institute), 14 affiliated international institutions, two venture capital companies and 48 small and medium size companies that are technology or service providers or have drug development pipelines themselves. 

The Institute’s purpose-built research laboratories will open in January 2019 on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and will house companies and academic scientists. 

• For more details visit nxthlth.com

Cambridge has been chosen to host a new global forum designed to change the face of international healthcare.

Gamechanging innovation will be centre stage at the Next Health World Innovation Forum – a new international healthcare conference which takes place in Cambridge from June 26-27, 2019.

The Innovation Forum is partnering with Cambridge’s pioneering Milner Therapeutics Institute to challenge the status quo and identify technologies that will revolutionise patient care across a range of disease areas.

The event will incorporate the annual symposium of the Milner Institute, which is dedicated to transforming groundbreaking research into new therapies, by breaking down the barriers between academia and industry. 
Confirmed speakers include representatives from Servier, Pfizer, Innovative Medicines Initiative and Cancer Research UK. 

Key topics will include Machine learning and artificial intelligence in healthcare; Cancer; Neuroscience and neurotech; Cell and gene therapy; Prevention (diagnostics, monitoring); Evidence-based new economic models for healthcare; Nutrition, lifestyle and healthcare; Holistic approaches to medicine.

As well as pinpointing the gaps, challenges and unmet needs of the current global healthcare ecosystem, the forum is determined to define goals for the biopharma and healthcare industry, connect investment capital with biotech startups and identify strategies, policy and technological solutions that will enable a healthier future.

Cambridge was chosen as host city because of its world-class BioMedTech, research and academic cluster.

The partner hosts believe the event will unite leading stakeholders from across the global healthcare community, ranging from academics, large established bio-pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, healthcare providers and government representatives to clinicians and patient groups, disruptive startups and investors across all stages of the research and investment cycle. 

Professor Tony Kouzarides (pictured), director of the Milner Therapeutics Institute at the University of Cambridge, says: “The Milner Therapeutics Institute is excited to work with the Innovation Forum to create Next Health as the biggest biotech gathering in Europe.

“By partnering our annual symposium with this event, we will drive new opportunities for translational collaboration and change in healthcare.”

The meeting will feature prominent keynote speeches as well as ‘fireside’ chats, startup pitches to investors and panel and round table discussions led by senior decision makers from industry, academia and government.

Dr Marek Tyl, CEO of the Innovation Forum says: “The healthcare industry is just at the beginning of a revolutionary transformation and we aim to shape not just the debate but also tangible government, industry and academic initiatives to create more innovative but also more affordable and accessible, future healthcare that not only treats but also prevents disease.”

The Innovation Forum is a global network of more than 10,000 innovators that seeks to accelerate technology development by generating synergy between academia, industry, investment and the public sector. It focuses on the evolution of current and future technologies, ranging from those at the nascent stage to those on the cusp of commercial application.

The Milner Therapeutics Institute is a fully integrated Institute of the School of Biological Sciences and the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of Cambridge. 

Its mission is to connect academia and industry, enable collaborative research and accelerate therapeutic companies. It delivers this mission through a global therapeutic alliance of 74 industry and academic partners. 

The alliance consists of seven major pharmaceutical companies (Astex, AstraZeneca, Elysium Health, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Shionogi, Pfizer), three academic centres in Cambridge (University of Cambridge, Babraham Institute and Sanger Institute), 14 affiliated international institutions, two venture capital companies and 48 small and medium size companies that are technology or service providers or have drug development pipelines themselves. 

The Institute’s purpose-built research laboratories will open in January 2019 on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and will house companies and academic scientists. 

• For more details visit nxthlth.com

A chart showing all the accidents and gridlocked road arteries the length and breadth of the country this week resembled a relief map of the Himalayas. Red warning triangles rammed cheek to jowl – viewed in this office to a backdrop of wailing sirens and flashing blue lights from emergency services careering in all directions to clear the chaos.

Cambridge, as ever, was right in the thick of it. This is not a rant about the myopic planning of poorly co-ordinated roadworks by Highways England or of foreign lorries tailgating and terrorising cars in speed-restricted ribbons that pass for carriageways.

No point. No pain without gain, we will be told. Let’s build more tarmac for foreign lorries to monopolise. It will be all right on the night – somewhere in the haze of the distant future. 

More people will die; more cars will be written off. It’s the price you pay for progress, right? And that’s before they start bulldozing Cambridge for a Metro!

Actually, the point is this: why do companies continue to subject employees to driving so many miles to get to work and lose hours of productivity while they sit in often multi-mile tailbacks? And before you say cars aren’t the only means of getting to work think again.

There is only so far you can cycle to work; bus and rail services still aren’t that great or even that accessible to people in some areas so the car remains the best door to door option for millions of workers.

In terms of Cambridge, with its UK and Europe-leading science and technology cluster, globally scaling companies are having to recruit from further and further afield just to keep pace with demand for their services. “Sorry I’m late boss but I got a puncture in Wetherby and found I’d left the bike pump back home in Aberdeen!”

Take a bow two companies growing globally from Cambridge bases – RealVNC, the remote software specialist, and PwC – the accountancy and business advisory firm.

RealVNC has introduced a remote working strategy and even some of its engineers are now allowed to work away from the mothership, as well as finance, HR, sales and marketing staff. The company uses smart technology where close collaboration is necessary.

PwC is also opening up a new recruitment route to respond to the increasing demand from people to work flexibly and forgo traditional working patterns.
Its Flexible Talent Network has been created to give people the opportunity to work for the firm without being tied into a full-time contract and standard working hours. 

People can choose a working pattern that works for them – whether that’s shorter hours or only working for a few months a year. People will apply to PwC’s Flexible Talent Network based on the skills they have and the working pattern that best works for them, rather than for specific roles. PwC will then match people in the network with relevant projects.

Over 2,000 people registered for PwC’s Flexible Talent Network in the first two weeks.

So let’s have more of the same. Flexible working; home working; role sharing. In this age of advanced technology, staff do not have to be sitting somewhere an anally retentive boss can see them to do a decent job.
 
Strip the clocks off the walls and judge your people by their productivity. Let them work from home and use technology to stay in touch. 

Switching on rather than clocking in is always likely to prove smarter and more productive; from the boss’s perspective it’s a question of trust and having the foresight to let go of outmoded management mores. 

Surely that has to be preferable to hitting the iPhone every five minutes and asking your employee on the hands-free in their car: “Is the traffic at least moving yet?” while counting how many sales opportunities or prospective clients you might have lost.