Stephen has presented the welcome address at the Swiss-UK Life Science Conference in partnership with the University of Oxford this week. Held at St Hugh’s College, the conference brought together prominent scientists, academics and policy makers in the Life Science field.
As part of his role as Trade Envoy for Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Stephen spoke about the importance of UK-Swiss collaboration in the areas of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. He paid tribute to the team at Oxford University responsible for developing the Astra Zeneca Covid vaccine and emphasised the importance of a cooperative approach in addressing health challenges of this nature.
Speaking after the event, Stephen said: “Since assuming the role of Trade Envoy, I have been increasingly struck by how much the UK and Switzerland have in common. There are huge volumes of trade between us in each direction and both countries pride themselves on innovation. The pandemic has highlighted the need to work together on global health and bilateral partnerships like this one have the opportunity to lead the way for the future.”