Conference Presentation, Panel, Fireside Chat
The Promise of the Bioscience Century
Milken InstitutePaul Irving, Mike Milken, Eric Cantor, Paul Chu, Jeff, Bernardo Zavala, Jr., Bernard Harris, Andy von Eschenbach, Peggy, Francis Collins, Chris Austin
- The Global Conference 213 is anticipated to feature 140 panels focused on learning and relationship development over a three-day period.
- Science and bioscience are projected to account for more than 50% of all global economic growth.
- Panelists emphasize the necessity of reinvigorating scientific literacy early in life, specifically through middle school programs, to address 21st-century challenges including human health, global warming, wind farms, and nanotechnology.
- Innovation pipelines are expected to rely on early engagement of the public and private sectors to foster talent and ensure continuous innovation in global healthcare and bioscience.
- DARPA's mission is defined as maintaining US technological superiority through research described as revolutionary, potentially crazy, and emerging from internal program managers collaborating with government, academia, and industry.
- Jeff Hoffman predicts the transition of DARPA prosthetic arm technology from concept to market within five years, with long-term expectations that current breakthroughs will evolve into unimagined advancements over the next 60 years.
- The FDA is expected to transition from a domestic role to a global presence, utilizing new tools such as risk-based IT strategies, information sharing, and predictive toxicology to prevent problems before they occur.
- The FDA Safety and Innovation Act is anticipated to enable a "Breakthrough" program to accelerate resources and regulatory review for exciting discoveries, alongside new clinical trial designs that are shorter, cheaper, and involve fewer patients.
- Dr. Margaret Hamburg notes that genome sequencing time has decreased from 13 years to a couple of hours, signaling that precision medicine is imminent.
- Funding and investment trends indicate a significant shift where China's five-year $308 billion bioscience program exceeds US spending by more than 50%, while the US faces potential significant decreases in investment compared to increases in India, China, Brazil, Korea, Japan, Germany, and the UK.
- Eric Cantor predicts that 70% of the world's scientists will be located in Asia within the next decade and cites NIH efforts as creating 432,000 new jobs and $62 billion in economic activity over the last five years.
- Specific medical advancements are forecasted to include a 98% reduction in mother-to-child AIDS transmission in sub-Saharan Africa, increased life expectancy driving economies, and the proliferation of telemedicine, remote monitoring, and personalized genomic healthcare.
- Regulatory expectations include the use of data mining, genetic biomarkers to speed clinical studies, and predictive tools to identify drug failures early, as well as partnerships with industry to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
- The private sector is expected to remain unwilling to undertake risks in basic science, necessitating public funding and specific acts like the "Kids First Research Act" to address neurological diseases and autism.
- Panelists assert that future global success and US competitiveness depend on solving fiscal issues, maintaining an immigrant spirit of innovation, and fostering collaboration between agencies like DARPA and the FDA.