OPUS Industry Workshop Lessons learnt: How Open Science and Open Innovation are reshaping business-academia collaborations and driving industrial advancement

• April 10, 2025

On 9 April 2025, over 120 participants, including industry leaders, researchers, and public sector representatives, gathered virtually for the OPUS Industry Workshop, hosted by the OPUS Consortium in collaboration with YERUN, Technopolis Group Belgium, the University of Cyprus, and ICoRSA. The workshop explored the transformative power of Open Science (OS) and Open Innovation (OI) in fostering cross-sector partnerships and driving industrial advancement.

Gareth O’Neill, Principal Consultant on Open Science at Technopolis Group Belgium, opened the event by emphasising the increasing fluidity between academia and industry. He outlined the objectives of the OPUS Project, a European-funded initiative aimed at reforming research assessment systems to incentivise practices aligned with Open Science principles.

“Our initiatives aim to create frameworks that benefit both sectors while maintaining scientific integrity and driving innovation forward,” O’Neill stated. He encouraged active participation throughout the session, introducing interactive tools like Mentimeter to engage attendees.

Key Themes from Mentimeter Responses

Participants shared their perspectives on Open Science and industry through a series of interactive questions:

• Open Science: Frequently associated with transparency, innovation, collaboration, open access, and reproducibility. However, some scepticism emerged with mentions like “extra work” and “hot topic.”
• Industry: Predominantly linked to profit, money-making, innovation, productivity, and intellectual property.

These responses highlighted contrasting priorities between academia’s focus on openness and industry’s emphasis on commercial outcomes—a recurring theme throughout the workshop.

The OPUS Project is a European-funded initiative that has been active for just over three years and is now entering its final six months. It is a coordination and support action funded with nearly two million euros, aimed at developing measures to reform the assessment of research, with a particular emphasis on open science. The project seeks to evaluate researchers beyond traditional metrics, moving away from the focus on peer-reviewed publications, high journal impact factors, and sheer publication numbers. Instead, it aims to reward and recognise other valuable contributions researchers make, such as:

• Data management and sharing
• Teaching, training, and student supervision
• Non-peer-reviewed publications
• Conference talks and lectures

The overarching goal is to include actions that promote open science, recognising that if such activities are not acknowledged, researchers are unlikely to prioritise them. By embedding open science principles into the assessment system, the project hopes to encourage researchers to make more of their work accessible.

European Commission Framework

In 2015, the European Commission introduced three key concepts:

1. Open Innovation: Encouraging collaboration among diverse stakeholders to create and deliver products and services through cross-sectoral interaction. This concept is heavily focused on application and technology.
2. Open Science: Facilitating collaborative research through digital tools, enabling openness at varying levels—from full access to partial or none—with the aim of accelerating societal benefits from research outcomes.
3. Open to the World: Although less frequently referenced in recent Commission vocabulary, this concept remains significant for fostering global collaboration, societal impact, and geopolitical relevance.

Key Aspects of Open Science

Open science often begins with open access to research publications—whether in preprint form, reviewed format, or finalised versions. There are various levels and types of open access, some requiring payment while others do not.

Open Innovation in Pharmaceutical Industry: AstraZeneca’s Approach to Advancing Healthcare Through Collaboration

AstraZeneca’s Open Innovation program represents a significant shift in how pharmaceutical companies engage with external researchers, fostering a collaborative environment that benefits industry, academia, and ultimately patients. Dr Kelly Gray, Director of Open Innovation at AstraZeneca, provides comprehensive insights into how this program works to push the boundaries of science through open collaboration.

Career Journey and Program Origins

Dr Kelly Gray began her career following what she describes as a “standard track,” earning a biological sciences degree from the University of East Anglia, including a year abroad at the University of Miami. She continued at UEA to complete her PhD in cell biology with a focus on cardiovascular biology. After several short postdoctoral projects, she secured a five-year research position at the University of Cambridge investigating DNA damage in cardiovascular disease, which allowed her to explore research in greater depth.

Her path shifted when AstraZeneca relocated from northern England to the Cambridge Biomedical Research campus. Initially joining the company in safety sciences for cardiovascular projects, Dr Gray later moved away from bench work by securing an opportunity with the Emerging Innovations team. This role involved repositioning molecules, external collaboration, and advancing new ideas with external researchers, setting her on the path toward open innovation and open science.

“My role now is really focused towards enabling scientific collaborations with external researchers and hopefully driving forward open science principles,” Dr Gray explains.

AstraZeneca’s Open Innovation Program Structure

Launched in 2015, AstraZeneca’s Open Innovation program functions as an externally facing initiative that shares tools, technologies, data, and expertise from their internal scientific community. The program operates across four primary modules:

1. Preclinical research with external researchers
2. Clinical research focusing on repositioning existing assets
3. Cosolve program designed to address tough challenges through collaboration
4. Idea incubator supporting mentoring and startup philosophy

These modules collectively serve three key strategic areas:

• Impacting AstraZeneca’s portfolio through developing the next generation of medicines
• Demonstrating scientific leadership through collaboration
• Accessing and engaging with external scientific expertise to address key scientific challenges

“Innovations across all sectors are progressing with such pace that I don’t think there’s any possible way that with the expertise you have in-house, you could address those challenges. So you need to spread out and use and leverage that external network to be able to really drive innovations forward,” Dr Gray emphasizes.

The Collaborative Approach

The fundamental idea behind AstraZeneca’s open innovation is to bring together external scientists who have unique expertise, whether access to patients, specialized assays, or niche research areas, and combine this with AstraZeneca’s internal expertise, facilities, and therapeutic tools developed over nearly three decades.

Dr Gray acknowledges that establishing these collaborations has not been a simple process, noting the “paranoia” that can exist on both sides: “AstraZeneca are worried that they’re going to share their proprietary information with external researchers and scientists. But then the scientists themselves are worried that they’re going to share ideas with AstraZeneca, who will translate them at pace and move them forward and make money from them.”

The program’s foundations were established approximately 15 years ago when the Medical Research Council (MRC) in the UK and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) in the US approached various pharmaceutical companies about sharing discontinued assets with researchers to explore new indications. This initiative proved highly successful and laid the groundwork for AstraZeneca’s current open innovation program.

Evolution of the Open Innovation Program

In 2014, AstraZeneca launched a web portal for their open innovation program after identifying shareable resources across the business, including tool compounds, compound libraries, and screening technologies. The company has increasingly focused on crowdsourcing solutions to challenges—a key aspect of open science that enables diverse groups to contribute ideas.

From 2022 onward, AstraZeneca has been using open collaboration to support its strategic vision, emphasizing co-creation rather than appropriating external ideas. The company aims to align this work with its catalyst network in the commercial organization to bring ideas to clinical application for patient benefit.

Benefits for Multiple Stakeholders

The open innovation approach creates advantages across multiple stakeholders:

For researchers:

• Access to high-quality tools and technologies
• Publication opportunities in high-impact journals
• Support for grant funding applications
• Opportunity to develop medicines of the future
• Enhanced scientific leadership and reputation
• Network development for future opportunities

For AstraZeneca:

• New external perspectives and innovative ideas
• Expanded research into areas outside core focus
• Early identification of potential safety issues
• Accelerated drug development

For patients:

• New scientific advances that can lead to better medicines
• Increased focus on areas with high unmet needs

“We are very keen to publish the science that comes out of these collaborations. And a lot of our researchers publish in high impact and high quality journals, and we really encourage that. We’ve also got a small fund where we can pay for open access journal articles to be published,” Dr Gray notes.

Collaboration Examples

Two specific collaboration examples illustrate how the program works in practice:

Spinal Cord Injury Research Collaboration

A particularly noteworthy aspect of the program is its openness to researchers at all career stages. Dr Gray emphasizes that submissions are evaluated based on scientific quality rather than the researcher’s seniority: “If you’re a PhD student with a really great idea, you want to get access to a tool compound to test your hypothesis, we will consider that in the same way that we consider an application or a submission from a very well established researcher.”

In one example, AstraZeneca provided Professor Zubair Ahmed access to a high-quality ATM inhibitor compound (AZD1390) to investigate its potential in spinal cord injury—an indication outside AstraZeneca’s core therapeutic areas. The researcher conducted in vitro studies over 12 months, generated positive data, and published findings in Clinical and Translational Medicine in July 2022. This collaborative relationship has continued for 7-8 years, with the researcher now exploring different indications with the same molecule.

RNA Structure and Folding Prediction

Through the Cosolve program’s crowdsourcing approach, AstraZeneca identified Dr. Walter Moss to collaborate on RNA structure and folding prediction—an innovative capability they couldn’t develop internally. In this 12-month co-development project, both parties contributed expertise to create a joint solution. The collaboration benefits the researcher by enhancing reputation and visibility while accelerating AstraZeneca’s drug development pipeline and advancing science through publication.

Sustainability Initiatives

Beyond the core focus on repositioning molecules and sharing tools, AstraZeneca has incorporated sustainability into its open innovation efforts. The company has led sustainability-focused challenges around recycling, green chemistry, and health equity for Africa, broadening both the researchers engaged and the types of studies conducted.

Intellectual Property Considerations

A critical aspect of the program concerns intellectual property rights. Dr Gray clarifies that every research project operates under a material transfer agreement, with a clear understanding that IP generated from the project belongs to the researcher, while AstraZeneca maintains first right of negotiation to license it.

“If IP is generated from that project, the researcher owns that IP. And then we have the first right of negotiation to license that. So you are getting something out of this collaboration. This is your idea. We are not trying to take your idea. We are trying to enable your idea,” Dr Gray explains.

Building Trust Between Partners

The success of open innovation hinges on establishing trust between the company and external researchers. Dr Gray notes how this trust develops through transparency about what the program offers, what it aims to achieve, and what it can and cannot deliver.

She observes a spectrum of engagement levels among researchers: “There’s some people that come and say ‘I don’t want to work with you, I just want access to the tools.’ And we say, ‘but we can offer more than that. We can offer expertise, advice, making sure that the experiments are fit for purpose, that they’re translatable, that they’re going to have opportunities down the line.'”

While some researchers maintain a fixed mindset about limited engagement, others like Professor Zubair Ahmed have developed deep collaborative relationships over many years, actively seeking additional data and considering how to leverage AstraZeneca for their research purposes.

Data Sharing and Open Access

Regarding what can be shared in collaborations, Dr Gray explains that once under a confidentiality agreement, there are few limitations. The company increasingly challenges the default stance on data restrictions, asking: “What can’t you share, and why can’t you share it?”

For anonymized data or publicly available molecules, the argument for restrictions becomes weaker. AstraZeneca has pathways for sharing preclinical data through open innovation and clinical trial data through separate channels.

Dr Gray also notes that through her role leading the European Union’s Innovative Health Initiative public-private partnerships, she sees a strong focus on open science principles: “Everything keeps within the consortia for the kind of 5-year term of the project. But then the idea is that all of that data becomes open access at the end of the research project.”

Valuable Tools And Technologies For Researchers

AstraZeneca’s open innovation program represents a win-win approach for multiple stakeholders. For external researchers, it provides access to valuable tools and technologies otherwise unavailable. For AstraZeneca, it offers a pathway to innovative ideas from external researchers. Most importantly, for patients, it creates new scientific advances that can lead to better medicines.

As the pharmaceutical industry continues to evolve from its historically closed-door approach to more collaborative models, programs like AstraZeneca’s open innovation initiative demonstrate how open science principles can accelerate medical advances while creating value for all participants in the research ecosystem.

“Twenty years ago, Pharma was a closed door. We didn’t share anything. We didn’t want to collaborate. We knew everything. But we very much understand now that that isn’t the case. Great research is happening outside of AstraZeneca, and we want to be able to work together to actually advance that much more quickly,” concludes Dr Gray.

See the full presentation here.

Public-Private R&D Initiatives: CERN’s Collaborative R&D and Innovations

João Fernandes, a senior staff member at CERN with over 25 years of experience in innovation and industry collaboration, delivered an in-depth presentation on the laboratory’s approach to public-private research partnerships. Drawing from CERN’s legacy of large-scale scientific collaborations, Fernandes outlined how these initiatives accelerate technological advancements while addressing fundamental challenges in particle physics and beyond. The talk emphasized CERN’s role as a hub for open science, its mechanisms for engaging industry partners, and the broader societal benefits of these collaborations.

Introduction to CERN’s Mission and Infrastructure

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the world’s largest particle physics laboratory, located near Geneva, Switzerland. Its primary mission is to investigate the fundamental particles and laws governing the universe through cutting-edge experiments like those conducted at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The LHC, a 27-kilometer underground particle accelerator, collides protons at nearly the speed of light, generating up to one billion collisions per second.These collisions produce approximately one petabyte of data per second, necessitating advanced computing infrastructure for storage, processing, and analysis.

The laboratory operates as a global collaboration, with 24 member states and partnerships spanning over 15,000 researchers, including staff, graduate students, and visiting scientists from universities and institutes worldwide. This international ecosystem forms the backbone of CERN’s research program, which extends beyond particle physics to drive innovations with far-reaching societal impacts.

Innovation at CERN: From Fundamental Research to Societal Applications

CERN’s innovations emerge from solving the technical challenges inherent to its research. A seminal example is the invention of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989, developed to facilitate information sharing among physicists. This breakthrough underscores how CERN’s needs often catalyze technologies that redefine global communication. Similarly, advancements in medical imaging, such as high-resolution 3D X-ray systems and radiotherapy techniques, stem from particle accelerator technologies refined at CERN.

Recent innovations leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to optimize research processes. For instance, machine learning algorithms are applied to control systems for steering particle beams in the LHC, while reinforcement learning models are being tested for applications in healthcare, including cancer research and medical supply chain optimization. These efforts highlight CERN’s commitment to translating fundamental research into practical solutions across disciplines.

Mechanisms for Collaborative R&D

Example 1: The ARCHIVER Project

The ARCHIVER project, funded by the European Commission, exemplifies CERN’s approach to pre-commercial procurement (PCP). This initiative brought together four major research organizations—CERN (high-energy physics), DESY (photon science), EMBL (life sciences), and PIC (astronomy)—to co-develop large-scale data preservation solutions with industry partners. The project followed a phased structure:

1. Phase 1: Development of a common architectural framework for data preservation.
2. Phase 2: Pilot testing of solutions across diverse scientific use cases.
3. Phase 3: Deployment in production-like environments to validate scalability.

Two SMEs, LIBNOVA (Spain) and Arkivum (UK), successfully delivered services tailored to the needs of big science, accelerating their product development timelines by an estimated five years. The project received recognition for fostering cross-sector collaboration and advancing data preservation technologies.

Example 2: Quantum Technology Initiative (QTI)

Launched as a five-year research program, the QTI explores quantum technologies for high-energy physics while fostering broader societal applications. The initiative is structured around four pillars:

1. Technology Platforms: Hardware development for quantum systems.
2. Networks and Communication: Quantum-safe communication protocols.
3. Quantum Computing: Hybrid classical-quantum computing solutions.
4. Algorithms: Development of quantum-specific computational methods.

The QTI operates as a centralized hub, aligning projects with strategic objectives while maintaining clear intellectual property (IP) frameworks. This structure ensures transparency in commercial contracts and R&D collaborations, enabling seamless integration of industry expertise into CERN’s quantum research.

Benefits of Public-Private Collaboration

For Industry Partners

• Access to Cutting-Edge Research: Companies gain exposure to unique datasets and research challenges, such as the petabyte-scale data generated by the LHC, which drive innovation in data processing and storage technologies.
• Risk Mitigation: Collaborative projects like ARCHIVER reduce development risks by providing validated use cases and early feedback from scientific end-users.
• Market Acceleration: Participation in CERN initiatives shortens time-to-market for products, as seen in LIBNOVA’s and Arkivum’s rapid advancement of data preservation tools.

For Public Research Organizations

• Technology Transfer: CERN’s collaborations bridge the gap between theoretical research and practical applications, as demonstrated by spin-offs in medical imaging and AI.
• Ecosystem Building: Partnerships foster networks connecting academia, startups, SMEs, and large corporations, creating synergies that address complex societal challenges.
• Open Science Advocacy: Initiatives like Zenodo, CERN’s open-access repository, promote data sharing across disciplines, extending the laboratory’s impact beyond particle physics.

Challenges in Open Science and Data Sharing

While CERN has established a policy for open science, practical challenges that still persist are progressively addressed. CERN experimental collaborations are committed to make their research data publicly available, taking into account the respective data and access policies. All data are released with persistent identifiers. Data and associated data services apply open and FAIR principles. For experimental data releases, CC0 waivers are applied as standard, researchers and experiments are expected to develop data management plans for their research activities. CERN’s open data portal is a repository enabling large scale experimental data releases of curated datasets and associated products which is a good example of a step toward broader accessibility. Fernandes emphasized that generally speaking, open science still requires cultural shifts within the research community, where competition for funding and publications often discourages data sharing in several research domains.

Another aspect found important in this discussion, is the use of standards for metadata and ensure compliance with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles. As Barend Mons, a proponent of the FAIR framework, noted during the Q&A, “FAIR data is not necessarily open data—it’s about structured metadata enabling reuse, even for sensitive or protected datasets”. This distinction is critical for balancing openness with ethical and practical constraints in fields like genomics and healthcare.

Leveraging Industry Expertise To Solve Technical Challenges

CERN’s collaborative R&D initiatives demonstrate how public-private partnerships can drive innovation while advancing fundamental science. By leveraging industry expertise to solve technical challenges, the laboratory accelerates discoveries with applications ranging from quantum computing to medical imaging. These efforts align with CERN’s mission to benefit society, exemplified by open science platforms like Zenodo and its commitment to ethical data stewardship.

As Fernandes concluded, “Our collaborations are not just about advancing particle physics—they’re about creating ecosystems where academia and industry jointly tackle humanity’s grand challenges”. In an era of increasing interdisciplinary complexity, CERN’s model offers a blueprint for fostering innovation through transparency, shared resources, and mutual respect between public and private sectors.

See the presentation here.

Biologist turned entrepreneur – journey of a neurotech startup, Petra Szeszula, CEO, BrainZell

Petra Szeszula, CEO of BrainZell, explored the evolving role of researchers who operate across both academic and industrial settings. Her insights shed light on the unique challenges and opportunities faced by professionals navigating these two distinct environments.

Petra is a pioneering force behind BrainZell, a startup born from cutting-edge research at the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Petra, alongside her colleague, co-founded BrainZell to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in neuroscience and the pharmaceutical industry. Today, she shared her inspiring journey and the work her company is undertaking.

From Economics to Neuroscience: Petra’s Unconventional Journey

Petra’s academic background is anything but typical. Initially, she began her studies in economics and management, but her heart was always drawn to the sciences. Driven by a deep curiosity about the natural world, she transitioned into the study of biology and microbiology, eventually focusing on the complexities of neuroscience. This shift marked the start of what would become her true passion and life’s work.

A Passion for Science Meets Innovation

Throughout her career, Petra has had the unique opportunity to work with some of the most advanced technologies in the field. She is particularly excited about the potential these innovations have to disrupt the pharmaceutical industry. With an unshakable belief that these breakthroughs could revolutionize the way we understand and treat neurological disorders, Petra co-founded BrainZell.

In her own words, Petra describes this moment as a culmination of years of dedication and vision. Her journey from an economics student to a leading figure in neuroscience is a testament to the power of following one’s true calling and passion.

Petra spoke about the critical importance of value creation when founding a startup, particularly in the life sciences sector. She explained how the pharmaceutical industry depends on patents and exclusivity periods to generate profits that sustain further research and development. Drawing from her own experience with BrainZell, a biotech startup, she highlighted the specific challenges associated with deep tech ventures. These include the need for specialised equipment, highly trained experts, and substantial financial investment.

The Problem in Neuroscience

The challenge we are addressing lies at the intersection of neuroscience and drug development. In this field, the success rate of new medicines reaching the market is alarmingly low—only 6% of drugs that work on animals are effective in humans. This discrepancy is a significant problem for several reasons:

• Mental Health Disorders: Over a billion people worldwide suffer from mental health disorders.
• Neurodegenerative Diseases: Conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s are becoming more prevalent as populations age.
• Economic Impact: The inefficiency in translating animal studies to human applications results in wasted resources and delayed treatments for patients in need.

BrainZell Solution: Human Brain Organoids

At BrainZell, we have developed an innovative solution: human brain organoids, which are miniature brain-like tissues grown from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These organoids simulate specific parts of the human brain and serve as a powerful tool for drug testing and development.

Here’s how it works:

1. Stem Cell Source: We start with iPSCs derived from skin biopsies or blood samples from any individual.
2. Differentiation: In our laboratory, we guide these stem cells to develop into brain-like tissues that mimic the prefrontal cortex.
3. Functionality: Within weeks, these organoids contain functional neurons capable of mimicking human brain activity.

What sets us apart is our ability to produce these organoids at scale, making them suitable for industrial applications. Our primary customers are pharmaceutical companies developing new medicines.

Benefits of Brain Organoids

Our technology offers several advantages over traditional methods:

• Increased Efficiency: Drug testing can be conducted faster and on a much larger scale compared to animal models.
• Improved Accuracy: Human brain organoids provide data that is more directly translatable to human patients.
• Ethical Considerations: By reducing reliance on animal testing, we address ethical concerns while improving scientific outcomes.

Challenges in Building a Startup

Founding a company like BrainZell requires navigating several challenges:

1. Value Creation: As you’ve heard from others today, success in life sciences is driven by creating value—both for patients and society at large.
2. Commercialization: Many research findings end up unused in drawers or journals. To make an impact, they must be translated into products or services that can reach the market.
3. Funding: Developing deep-tech solutions like ours is resource-intensive. We have secured equity investments and filed patents to protect our intellectual property.
4. Talent: Our team consists of highly trained experts—most of whom hold PhDs or postdoctoral experience.

Intellectual Property and Patents

In the pharmaceutical industry, patents play a crucial role in sustaining innovation:

• Patents provide exclusivity for approximately 20 years, allowing companies to recoup their investments during this period.
• Without patents, competitors could replicate innovations without bearing the associated R&D costs.

At BrainZell, protecting the intellectual property ensures that they can continue developing cutting-edge solutions while maintaining commercial viability.

Collaborations and Partnerships

Collaboration is essential for innovation:

• We partner with researchers, universities, and other companies to advance our work.
• Joint grant applications allow us to pool resources and expertise.
• Early-stage ideas can often be shared openly within partnerships before transitioning to more protected phases as they approach commercialization.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

For those considering transitioning from academia to entrepreneurship:

1. Build Your Network: Connect with mentors, transfer offices at universities, incubators, or accelerators.
2. Seek Funding: Start with soft funding like grants before approaching investors such as business angels or venture capitalists.
3. Be Resilient: Entrepreneurship requires persistence, creativity, optimism, and adaptability.

Sweden’s unique “professor’s privilege” policy allows researchers to own their intellectual property—a model that has fostered innovation and startup growth in the country.

See the presentation here.

The Role of Biotechnology Post-COVID

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of biotechnology and life sciences in addressing global challenges. Public recognition of these fields has grown significantly, creating new opportunities for startups like ours.

Where scientific research meets entrepreneurial spirit

In conclusion, BrainZell represents what is possible when scientific research meets entrepreneurial spirit. By leveraging cutting-edge technology like human brain organoids, we aim to transform neuroscience research and improve outcomes for patients worldwide.

Takeaways: What We Need To Know How to Balance Between Public and Private Sector Interests in Research and Innovation?

The conversation centred on the evolving landscape of open science, industry-academia collaboration, and the delicate balance between public and private sector interests in research and innovation. Gareth O’Neill, Open Science Principal at Technopolis Group and moderator of the discussion, guided the participants through critical topics. He posed questions about the practical benefits of open science for researchers transitioning out of academia and the challenges of balancing openness with intellectual property protection. Petra Szeszula, CEO of BrainZell, highlighted that open science is particularly advantageous in early-stage research and prototyping but stressed the necessity of protecting intellectual property as projects advance towards commercialisation. Dr Kelly Gray from AstraZeneca echoed these sentiments, noting that smaller companies face greater difficulties in striking this balance compared to larger organisations like AstraZeneca, which actively participates in public-private partnerships such as EIT Health.

A key theme was the role of public-private collaborations in fostering innovation. João Fernandes from CERN shared insights from CERN’s extensive experience in such partnerships, emphasising the importance of clear agreements to align objectives between public institutions focused on fundamental research and private companies driven by profit motives. He pointed out the cultural divide between sectors, with public institutions operating on longer timelines while private companies demand quicker results. Gareth O’Neill referenced examples like Philips opening up discontinued research for external development, illustrating how larger organisations can benefit from open science practices while maintaining control over intellectual property. Kelly Gray added that AstraZeneca had overcome Brexit-related challenges to participate more fully in initiatives like the Innovative Health Initiative, focused on large-scale collaborative research.

The discussion also touched on global trends in open science policies and their implications for data security. Gareth O’Neill noted international efforts, including UNESCO’s global initiatives, aimed at promoting open science across nations. However, he raised concerns about the increasing volume of open data being utilised by AI algorithms and potential security risks associated with cross-border data sharing. João Fernandes stressed the importance of addressing these risks early in collaborations to avoid complications later. The participants agreed that while open science fosters collaboration and innovation, careful consideration must be given to intellectual property protection, security concerns, and aligning goals between diverse stakeholders to ensure sustainable progress in research and development.