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June 2023 | View this email in your browser

What lessons can we learn from COVID-19?

Welcome to the latest edition of Future Thinking.

Last month Future Planet Capital hosted a dinner and discussion with Professor Adrian Hill, Director of the Jenner Institute in Oxford who helped create the AstraZeneca COVID-19 drug. The event brought together leading voices from academia, industry and the investment world to discuss learnings from the pandemic.

Together we also explored what is required to prepare for future pandemics, and the role that funding & research is playing in unleashing innovation. The evening was incredibly inspiring.

In a fireside chat, it was fascinating to hear first-hand from Adrian about his role in the development and deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2020, and his thoughts on what we can be doing to mitigate future pandemics.

Douglas Hansen-Luke, Executive Chairman of Future Planet Capital, stressed the importance of science and innovation coming together to create a lasting impact. Here’s what he had to say

Portfolio Spotlight: Vaccitech

In 2020, we became investors in Vaccitech, the biotechnology company spun off from the University of Oxford. At that time, knowledge of the COVID-19 virus was limited, and vaccine trial outcomes were still uncertain.

Recognising Vaccitech’s need for additional funding to support its growth, working with our partners at Oxford Science Enterprises, Future Planet Capital played a strategic role in reopening the investment round leading to the issuance of $43 million in convertible notes.

Fast forward to today, Vaccitech has gained widespread recognition for its remarkable achievement in developing the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine which has saved over 6 million lives.

FPC at HM Treasury Select Committee

Our Executive Chairman, Douglas Hansen-Luke, was honoured to be invited to give evidence earlier this month to the UK HM Treasury Select Committee for its investigation into the UK venture capital market.

It was a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion on how to support our domestic entrepreneurs as they grow their companies.

Douglas was asked what he would want the British government to do to support funding for entrepreneurs across the UK and through their growth journeys. His response was threefold:

Encourage the biggest pension and local government funds to invest in this space
Finance skills-based exchange programmes for young innovators
Make data available on how our industries and companies rank globally

There is global competition for capital, and making clear what the government is investing in R&D and in the country’s various regions to help a range of start-ups will encourage more investment. We think Britain has the potential to have dozens, if not hundreds, of unicorns.

You can listen to the full discussion through the link below.

Want to know more?
Contact E d Phillips or Abi Wye at Future Planet Capital.

This monthly digest is brought to you by Future Planet Capital.

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