Guests heard from David Atkins in relation to Congenica’s partnership with Digital China Health; Billy Boyle on Owlstone Medical’s recently announced expansion into China, and Yunming Shao from TUSPark who provided great insight.
The dinner was the latest in a series of events for CEOs & CXOs across the sector to meet to discuss issues of relevance to their role over a relaxed dinner. The topic was selected in response to feedback from guests at previous events on areas of interest for their business growth. Key take-aways from the evening:
- Have a specific strategic reason for pursuing business in China; simple size of market/available investment isn’t enough
- In-country partnerships are key for success
- Collaborate with long-term relationships in mind and seek mutually beneficial partnerships
- Don’t go it alone; organised events such as investor roadshows make life much easier
- Collectively the UK should be proactive in shaping China’s appetite and recognise that a passive approach will appear as indifference
- Don’t be fooled by the apparently large sums of VC money on offer from China; credible investors who have experience are what matters and currently this represents a trickle
- The unknown and common misconceptions can put people off seeking to work with China, however with the right partnerships and guidance, business is no more challenging than any other international market
- In China, WeChat is embraced as a far less formal and cumbersome form of communication than email, and often expedites processes and negotiations significantly
- IP protection is far more robust than people typically perceive, this is driven by China’s own need to progress their own technologies
The dinner was hosted by Bailey Fisher Executive Search in partnership with Silicon Valley Bank and Taylor Wessing. Iain Hopper, Director of Life Sciences & Health Technology at Bailey Fisher hosted the event, and the discussion was moderated by Nooman Haque, Managing Director of Life Sciences at Silicon Valley Bank UK.
Attendance at the Life Sciences Dinner is by invitation, for CEOs & CXOs of Life Sciences & Health Technology businesses. If you would like to find out more about future events, please contact Iain Hopper, Director of Life Sciences & Health Technology at Bailey Fisher.